Building Keitaro
by The Perilous Monster Eater
Summary: I thought I knew who I was before mom died. Then my father got drunk, my little sister called me dad, and I had to get a job. Granny Hina, however, changed everything.
1. Becoming Alive

**AN: Right, so this is my first Love Hina fic, so I hope I did a good job. Anyway, this is my attempt to make a tougher version of Keitaro without making him seem like Bruce Lee or Charles Manson or some overly violent loon. The way I figured it would work best was that Keitaro needed someone to watch out for. So here's my take on Love Hina. Also, a big thanks to Cizzymac for reading through this trifle and making it readable.**

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own Love Hina or any of the associated characters.****  
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"But... no, you're not even listening, Daddy!" the girl exclaimed.

Keitaro gave a long sigh. Talking to this girl...talking to Kanako was like trying to talk to her stupid cat. Neither listened, and both were inexplicable in many, many ways. Inexplicable in this case meant her trying to find a better _room_ for her cat. And it was times like this that he found himself blocking his little sister out, instead examining the room that he sat in.

As it was, the eight-year-old Kanako stood in the middle of their tiny kitchen, which was in the middle of their tiny two-bedroom apartment. It needed to be redone, but there was no rush. The kitchen wasn't dirty or messy...simply old. Gray walls that were once white, a tiled floor that was missing tiles here and there, and a single pea-green circular table that sat in the middle of the floor made up the decor. There was another chair sitting across from him, and normally Kanako would be sitting in it for their early morning talks, but...

She was too busy being _nuts._

"Daddy!" Kanako whined, and the floppy eared black cat in her arms gave a loud, wanting mewl, as though _it _also knew he wasn't paying attention them. "What's wrong with you? You're all staring at me and stuff..."

"I'm not your dad," he pointed out, literally pointing his finger at her, as he often did. "And you're wearing that? _Again?"_

She giggled, spinning so he could see the flowing _black _sundress, although she was a bit small for it... but then again, Kanako was a bit small for everything she wore. The girl was a string bean. He didn't even know where she got the damnable thing, only that _she wouldn't stop wearing it, _and he had neither the patience or the time to undertake that particular campaign.

"So, like I was saying," she started again, rather presumptuously assuming he wasn't going to zone out again. "If we just take _all _of the trays out of the oven and never use it again, Kuro can have a proper place to sleep!"

"Well... it's certainly better than your last plan," Keitaro mused. Her last plan involved his closet, a litter box, his favorite shirt, and baking soda. At least this time it involved the cat. And fire.

"Hey, what's with that creepy smile? Dad?"

Only the terribly loud telephone broke him from his reverie and saved him from having to explain how much he _loathed _that cat (He doubted he could ever put it into words that the girl could understand.), so he quickly grabbed the receiver off its base and answered it. It was an older model, and didn't have the politeness or the option to _not _be shrill and loud in such a small room.

"Urashima residence," Keitaro stated quickly, sounding more than a little annoyed with the person on the other end. Who would call at 7 in the morning, anyway?

"_Keitaro, what's wrong?"_

Oh. Granny would definitely do something like that.

"H-hello? Granny?" He motioned for his younger sister to stop being crazy and sit down. For some reason, she thought Keitaro pointing towards the ground meant 'Come sit on my lap.'

To which she, of course, obliged him instantly. She pattered across the floor on bare feet, spun and hopped into his lap. And he thanked the gods that she was a tiny, tiny person.

"_Hello Keitaro, it's sooo good to hear from you again!"_

"Hey. Yeah, it's really good to hear from you, too, Granny. How are you?"

"_Ohhhhh, this old woman's fine. Just checking up on my favorite grandkids to be sure they're doin' alright. How's my lil Kanako? Is she okay? Is she around?"_

"Yeah, she's right here, and-oof! Cut that out!" Kanako stopped bouncing on his lap, at the sound of his 'Daddy voice.'

"_Huh?"_

"Sorry, she thought my lap was a trampoline."

"_She's close then! Tell her that ol' Granny says hello."_

Cupping his hand over the receiver, he looked down at Kanako. "Granny says hi." And of course Kanako wanted to say hi too, so she leaned up close to his ear for some reason and yelled, "HI GRANNY!"

Keitaro winced, and held the phone back up to his now ringing ear.

"Kanako says hi, too," Keitaro grumbled.

"_Ha ha! I heard!" _The old woman laughed for a moment longer, and he could hear his Aunt Haruka in the background, asking what all that yelling was. _"Anyway, does that girl still call you dad? Ya know that can't be healthy for you or her, right?"_

"Yes, she still calls me that. Yeah, yeah, I know, Granny." He sighed, and Kanako leaned back against his chest, yawning and closing her eyes. The cat, Kuro, seemed to mime this.

"_You know... it wouldn't be so hard if you'd just come here."_

For some reason, his eyes darted to the door that led into the living room and dining room.

"_Haruka already agreed to help take care of Kanako, and you wouldn't have to spend as many hours working." _There was the sound of shuffling. Haruka's and granny Hina's voicessuddenly discussing something. _"Hell, you wouldn't even have to worry about paying for finishing High School and starting Cram School..."_

Keitaro sagged in his chair, instinctively curling an arm around Kanako's waist so that she did not fall off. He was glad she was such a bad morning person. She was usually on their side, and she _loved _visiting the Hinata House.

"Granny, I can't do that right now. Things are really starting to look up at work, and Kanako is settled in at school. She's doing really well, and you _know _that if I'm not here to take care of the old man--"

"_Keitaro." _She silenced him with a single harshly spoken word. _"I understand all of these things, and more than that, I sympathize with you. But you're a 19 year old man who's spent the last four years of your life raising my granddaughter, taking care of my daughter's husband, and making payments on a house that is falling apart."_

"Granny..."

"_Kei, all I'm asking is that you let us help. Kami knows you've done enough, and we're all family. Just...I need you to seriously think about this, all right? Think about what's best for Kanako. Really, think about it."_

She listened to him give a heavy, labored sigh. This told her more than anything else he'd said in their conversation.

"_Promise me you'll think about it, Keitaro."_

"I promise. By the end of the week, I'll have an answer for you, Granny."

"_Good. Now put my little Kanako on the phone, hm?"_

He jostled Kanako with his shoulder and pressed the phone against her ear.

"Kanako, Granny wants to say hi," he murmured, giving the smaller girl a squeeze.

It was enough for her eyes to pop open. Expertly, she scooped the phone in the place between her chin and her shoulder so as to be sure she did not jostle the still sleeping cat.

Somehow, she managed to keep from sounding groggy, and clambered down from Keitaro's lap when he gave her a small shove between her shoulder blades.

"_Hello dear, is Keitaro taking good care of you?"_

"Uh huh! Daddy's been taking good care of me!" She _yelled _into the phone.

"I'm not your dad," Keitaro muttered. And of course she ignored him. She'd been calling him that so long that his response was more out of habit than anything else.

Shaking his head as if to wipe away such thoughts, Keitaro opened the pantry, pulled out a jar a peanut butter, and then moved to the refrigerator to grab a small bag of leftover ham. He bumped the refrigerator door closed with his hip, and held both items up for his sister to see.

She pointed at both spastically, at one item and then the other, keeping Kuro steady under one arm. He wrinkled his nose at the feisty girl.

"I'm not putting both of these in your sandwich."

"Ew! That's nasty! Oh no, not you, Granny Hina!"

He tilted his head, glancing at the two items in his hand. So what was she...?

Kanako began looking down pointedly at the cat, and Keitaro frowned. Of course, she wanted to feed the cat. It made sense, as much sense as that stupid cat made.

He shook his head, setting about getting everything to make Kanako's lunch for the day.

"Okay, bye granny! I love you too!" Kanako hung up the phone, and danced around Keitaro before placing it back on its base.

"Alright," Keitaro started without missing a beat. "So all this week I've got work Kanako, which means I need you to remind your dad-"

"He's not my dad," Kanakok cut in sharply, squeezing the cat so hard he snapped awake, yowling in discomfort. "Sorry Kuro," she apologized, nuzzling his ear with her free hand.

"He _is _your dad and he... uh..."

Kanako raised an eyebrow, yet another skill Keitaro wished she did not get from him. "See? Even you don't believe it!"

He sighed, slapping his forehead.

"Kanako, just listen, alright? I have work all week. Make sure you remind _your dad _to pick you up from school." He heard the sullen mumble of, 'He's not my dad.' from the girl, but opted to ignore her this time. "Work for me is from nine to five, and I should have dinner on the table by six. Lunches will always be on the bottom shelf of the fridge, snacks on the middle. How many snacks do you get after school?"

"Three?"

"Try again."

"One," she muttered. "But Taro at school always gets-"

"Taro-at-school isn't you. And If I see any _more _than one missing a day, no dessert for you, got it?" A defeated sigh, more under-the-breath mumbling, and he knew he had the girl's ear again. "Great. Did I forget anything?"

"Why is he always _my _dad? Why isn't he _yours _too?"

"Because you're 8 and I'm 19." He finished making her sandwich, and placed it in a brown paper bag before thrusting it out to the girl. "Now go to school."

* * *

"I'm dumping your whiskey now," Keitaro mumbled as he marched from the kitchen to the living room, where he found his father. Walking from the kitchen to the living room could best be compared to moving from a grassy field to a dumpster. Whereas the kitchen was where he and Kanako indulged in their morning traditions and idiosyncrasies, the living room was where Keitaro tried to find hidden liquor, throw away empty bottles, and occasionally yell at the man that lived there when he was too drunk to remember. "Did you hear me?"

The slovenly man was a cautionary tale on how not to take care of oneself. He had a sloppy beard that was half-trimmed from the ear to he chin, a wild mane of hair that met a receding hairline, a yellow, splotchy t-shirt that was once white, a paunchy belly that pushed that t-shirt to become uncomfortably tight, and sweat pants that bunched in all the wrong places and smelled as bad as his breath.

He lay on the three-person couch, breathing heavily. It was the same place he'd been for the last few days.

"Christ, I don't have enough time to get you cleaned up and still get to work on time," he mumbled, taking the liquor bottle that dangled precariously from the man's hands, placing it on the table.

Keitaro sat rather unceremoniously on the edge of a coffee table that sat in the center of the room. "You aren't the only one that's sad, you know," he told the man that _kind of _looked like his father. "We went to her funeral too; me and Kanako."

The older man turned his head away, balling himself up.

"This isn't _fair _to her. This isn't fair to her and it isn't fair to me."

The old man hiccupped and covered his face with a pillow.

"You're not my father." Keitaro stated the words resolutely, with all the calm he could muster.

With that, Keitaro stood up and walked back to the kitchen. Mr. Urashima could hear his son dumping the liquor into the sink. He sobbed even more, not knowing whether it was because of the loss of his alcohol, the loss of his wife, or the loss of his son.

- - - - - - - - - -

Twenty-ton steel engines made of fans and shunts moving in and out of the exit ports roared from high above. The air was toxic, and had it not been for the bulky gas masks that each of the workers wore, they might have easily suffocated from the poisons.

As far as Keitaro knew, the stuff in the air was quite flammable, and if one of the engines hanging up high caught a spark, there was no chance that any of them would escape alive.

"Mrph Mprph!" yelled one of his co-workers. Keitaro knew this actually meant, "Heads up! Spray gun!"

His hand shot into the air, easily catching the spray gun with all the ease of someone who'd been doing been doing a single thing for eight hours a day, forty hours a week, and twenty-one days a month for four years.

Keitaro worked as part of a manual painting line, one of the last in Japan, for a small toy company, also one of the last manually operated in Japan.

There was a loud, shrill whistle, and everything in the murky warehouse came to a sudden standstill as the engines came to a whirring halt, and the conveyer belts crawled to a stop.

"_Urashima Keitaro." _A booming voice echoed over the poisonous air, and Keitaro winced. _"Please report to the central offices for your package."_

"Not entirely unexpected," he mumbled to himself, unable to keep the knot from choking up his throat. A few of his fellow painters mumbled a few words to him under their breaths, and a few more gave him pats on the back.

- - - - - - - - - -

"He always forgets," the small girl scoffed, her voice rose in a surprisingly spiteful tone for so simple an action. She danced her fingers through the short hair of the kitten in her lap. "Isn't he stupid?" she asked the cat, who merely yawned in reply.

It was a rule of theirs (Or Keitaro's, anyway). Whenever Keitaro got off of work too late to pick her up, he wanted her to wait for either him or her real father to arrive. Keitaro did not like for her to walk home alone after afternoon classes. Unfortunately, this often hinged on the drunken man that chained himself to the living room actually coming to pick his daughter up. Until then, she was forced to sit on the front stairs of the school, watching as other parents corralled their children.

The cat opened its mouth wide in a yawn, causing it's long, floppy ears to flail backwards against it's body.

Kanako clutched the cat closer to her body, rubbing her cheek against its head, briefly enjoying the sounds of its purring. "I hope we don't end up sitting here as long as last time, huh Kuro?" She remained seated on the stony stairs, her backpack lying against her leg. She gave another labored sigh as she closed her eyes, burying her face into the cat's fur. "I miss mom."

With a low creaking noise, a bike pulled up to the stairs, coming to a slow stop. Someone stepped off and came to sit beside them, and Kanako instantly smiled when she looked up at the person that sat down.

"Me too, Kanako," Keitaro admitted.

Kanako looked Keitaro over, noticing he was wearing his street clothes: his ratty jeans, a simple button up white shirt, and his ever-present thick, round glasses. A bag hung heavily in his hand, tightly wound by its drawstring. She leaned to the right, resting her head lovingly on her brother's shoulder.

"You got off work early to pick me up?"

Keitaro shrugged off his sister's question. Better she think that he did it for her, rather than the much more realistic reason. "Yeah. I'll be spending a little more time around the house this week, too."

Kanako frowned at his answer, because it sounded so similar to what that man…that is, her father, used to say. Keitaro looked down at her, and just shook his head. "Not what I meant. My hours got cut this week." Seeing the young girl's questioning gaze, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I'm not gonna be making as much, because they don't need me as often any more."

The diminutive girl nodded and snuggled against him. "So...what are you gonna do then?" Keitaro leaned over, giving her a kiss on her forehead. He then leaned his head against hers, and she laughed in response.

"I don't know yet. Job hunting, maybe?" Closing his eyes, Keitaro thought about a simpler time when he was not so concerned with getting a job, paying the mortgage, or getting Kanako ready for school. "Maybe we'll take granny Hina's advice and move to the Hinata House?"

He was half kidding. Moving to the Hinata house would certainly be a great relief on him... and especially on Kanako. The young Kanako just shook her head against him. "If you say so."

He swallowed hard and kept his eyes closed. She had made his decision for him, and didn't even know it. "Alright Kanako." He wrapped his arms around his sister, clutching her tightly. "Alright."

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**AN: So, kind of a long Authors Note, just for the sake of actually explaining things.**

**1. There will be absolutely no romance between Kanako and Keitaro. I just felt that I needed to make that crystal clear.**

**2. Yes, Kanako is 8 in this fic. Yes, she'll be sticking around. Her calling Keitaro "Dad" is kind of a play on her getting their relationship all wrong, much like she does in the anime. (She's probably right in this case though.)**

**3. The romance... I'm actually kind of torn, so it'd be kind of helpful to hear what you all think. (Currently torn between Motoko or Mutsumi. For reasons that will be explained later; Kitsune, Su, and Shinobu could NOT be involved with him.)**

**4. Finally, yes. Keitaro kind of has an irrational dislike of Kuro. There is a reason for this, I promise to get into it.  
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**Alright, so with that out of the way, I'm gonna go ahead and say thanks much for reading this, and pleeeeease leave a review on your way out and tell me what you think, okay? Thanks!  
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	2. Becoming a Father

Chapter 2: Becoming A Dad

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**AN: Well, um... the reception to this fic was not quite what I expected. At all. I don't know whether I should be pleased or terrified that so many people enjoyed this, but either way, thanks for the reviews. Once again, a big thanks to Cizzymac for checking this over and such and such. I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this.**

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"Breakfast is on the stove," Keitaro muttered in barely concealed disgust as he passed by. Like always, that face was fixed in a scowl, though only when talking to him. He never frowned like that when Himiko was around...

Mr. Urashima found himself sobbing again that day. It was the third time that day that he felt weak and useless. "Kei-Keitaro," he called out for his son. "What are you doing today? Are you studying? Still trying to get into Tokyo U?"

His son gave something of a low sigh and he could _hear _Keitaro clutching the table with both hands.

"Yeah." The boy gave a sigh that carried from the kitchen to the living room. "I'm gonna go for it when Kanako gets a little older."

Keitaro marched out again, his jaw clenching and unclenching. Mr. Urashima noticed every time he spoke it seemed like his son just got so _angry. _"You haven't even finished high school. They don't even _take _dropouts." The words dropped from the man's mouth as though the boy was still twelve, and somehow managed to sound both condescending _and _incredulous.

His son stopped abruptly and rounded on him. The look in his eyes was foreign... wild, even. His mouth was fixed in a snarl, and when he tried to speak, his voice seemed to emit nothing but growls.

Keitaro's fists balled up, and he stared down at Mr. Urashima. "Kanako thinks I'm her dad." The words came out in a low, caustic hiss. "She thinks _I'M _her _DAD." _He barely knew what he was saying, or what he meant to say, only that he wanted to hurt the older man.

Mr. Urashima seemed more surprised than hurt. "What?"

"You don't know anything." The menacing young man took another step away from his father, only to stop abruptly. "We're leaving."

The older man's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Did I stutter? I'm taking Kanako and we're leaving!" Keitaro took a deep breath. "It's all you really need to know, isn't it? At some point this week, we're going away, and I'm not saying goodbye." Keitaro marched out the front door, his face fixed in a scowl accented with his own regret, marked by downcast eyes.

Pausing by the door, he listened to the sounds of his sobbing father, and felt himself asking the same question he'd been asking himself ever since the year that Granny Hina made the offer. He felt the burning sensation of tears trying to push their way out, but they couldn't seem to find their way. "Can I really do this?"

* * *

Haruka took a long drag of her cigarette as she sat back in her wicker chair, staring up at the orange and purple sky. The sweeping was done, and the coffee house had already been closed for the day. It was always pretty this time of the year, with the changing leaves and the cooler breeze playing across her apron and hair. Rarely did she ever get the chance to enjoy such a nice evening. She was so taken by the sight, that she never heard Hina step onto the porch with her.

"Quite pretty this time of year, isn't it?"

Haruka didn't show her surprise, and instead exhaled a puff of smoke before nodding. "It is."

The two shared a moment of companionable silence before the older woman spoke up again. "Keitaro called."

"Let me guess," she took another drag and exhaled. "He appreciates our offer, but he's got everything under control, and he'll be sure to visit us when he's got some time?" This was, of course, spoken in the customary deadpan 'Haruka drawl'.

"Actually, he said that he and Kanako would be arriving Friday morning."

The old woman _cackled _at the way Haruka's cigarette dangled precariously from her gaping mouth, causing her to bite down on it to keep it from falling out. Suddenly, she was leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, looking over at the old woman wearing the big yellow robe and little purple kimono underneath.

"What, seriously?" She cracked a rare smirk. "Are they coming to stay? What brought this on?"

Hina couldn't help but grin and nod eagerly; her eyes squinted closed as the breeze wafted through her gray locks. "He said that he'd take the job. Nothing about finishing school, but I figure we can fight with him about that when he actually gets here. And I don't know _why _he decided to come, but…" The old woman gave a sigh. "It's gonna be a relief not having to worry about Keitaro and Kanako so much any more."

"They're quite the pair, that's for sure." Haruka's eyebrows shot into her forehead. "What are we going to tell the girls?"

Hina laughed... _god _did she laugh. Cackling, she wrapped her arms around her sides, wiping her tears from her eyes. "Hoo. We tell them that we found them a manager, that I'm finally going on my vacation, and that we _know _he'll do a good job."

Haruka just smirked at that. "Well, he's already got the experience, that's for sure."

Hina gave another laugh, this one decidedly mischievous, as she basked in the sunset. "And hopefully this will be as good for him as it will be for the Hinata House."

* * *

"Oh ho, that's a much bigger house than what you drew last week, Kanako." Mr. Hanamura enjoyed seeing the normally docile Kanako being so lively for once. While many of her classmates seemed to draw in subdued manners, she made wild, open strokes with her whole arm. It was certainly a fairly advanced technique for such a young child. But she probably needed to reign in her enthusiasm a bit. "Where'd you learn to draw like that?"

Kanako gave her third grade teacher the biggest smile she knew how to give before putting her crayon back to the paper. "I was watchin' Daddy do it. I wanted to do it too today."

Hanamura nodded and smiled at the girl's response. "Your dad draws good?"

"My dad draws the _best_!" Kanako threw her hands into the air for emphasis, causing her teacher to give another laugh before tapping on the big white house that sat paramount on the paper.

"So is this your house?"

"Uh uh!" Kanako shook her head vigorously, and pointed. "My daddy's taking me to the Hinata House on Friday!" She practically cheered, and many of the surrounding students cheered with her. They didn't actually know why, they just liked to celebrate.

"Oh!" And her teacher knew how to act the part. He knelt down so that he was on eye level, and pointed to the sketchy, crude drawing of her, the cat, and a _very _tall Keitaro all dressed in blacks and khakis and green. Granny Hina floated above the house with a flock of seagulls (Or hawks... and maybe a cat), and Aunty Haruka was sticking out of the chimney, cross eyed and confused.

"It's a very nice drawing Kanako." He smiled with barely restrained mirth and giggles. It was certainly less haunting than the picture that she often sketched: her and her daddy standing out front, and a dark figure staring out of the windows with green eyes. When asked about it, Kanako simply shrugged and answered, "He lives there." When Mr. Hanamura had his monthly meeting Keitaro, he showed him the picture and told him what Kanako said. Keitaro simply responded with, "He _does _live there."

"So, you'll be back next Monday, then?" He asked.

Kanako shook her head vivaciously once more. "Nope! I'm NEVER coming back!"

Hanamura smiled and nodded, taking the chance to ruffle her hair as he stood back up. "Yup. See you Monday."

* * *

"Wh-what?! You can't just do that! You can't leave us Granny Hina! There's no way our parents would let us stay if there's no manager!"

So the meeting was going pretty much how Hina expected it to. She'd managed to corral all of her tenants into the dining room, and despite one of them being decidedly incapacitated, it was going fairly well.

"I have to admit, I will miss you, Naru." She winked at the taller, yelling girl. Naru was _very_ pretty with her long brunette hair and particularly leggy, but she often covered her figure with sweaters and baggy sweatshirts. It always struck Hina as a little weird... but then who was she to judge another's strangeness?

"She owns the Hinata House, Naru," Haruka responded, exhaling more smoke into the air. "Granny could set the house on fire if she felt like it."

"Ohhh! I think I already made something for that! Want me to get it!?" Su yelled, slapping her palms against the table and standing to her feet, much like Naru.

"No. Calm down, I'm not setting the inn on fire." Hina rolled her eyes. "You did that on purpose, Haruka." She turned back to the bronze skinned Su, and gave a gentle smile.

"Oh." Su sat back down, appearing more than a little confused. "Well then where ya goin'?"

Out of all the Hina patrons, Su was probably her favorite. Loud, rambunctious, running around in her school uniform and most times clever as a whip; Su reminded her of herself at that age, without the unnatural obsession with building machines, anyway.

"I'm going to live my dream, and to see the world," Hina stated resolutely, "I finally have someone to take my place and now it's really time for me to go.

Konno Mitsune... well, Hina was pretty sure that Kitsune was passed out, and didn't just have her head down. Hangovers were a bitch.

It was, of course, Motoko, the oft-stoic swordswoman who asked the most logical question. "Who will be our manager, then?"

Granny Hina just smiled at the black haired girl all clad in blue... she had her suspicions that _she _was the cleverest, perhaps even more than Mitsune...or at least the most objective. It was hard to tell the difference at times.

Either way, she gave the only answer she knew. "The only person I would have _ever _trusted with this job."

* * *

"Mr. Urashima, this...is highly irregular."

Keitaro leaned back, his hands folded over his stomach, appearing to be quite relaxed. "I know."

"Kanako, while not the most ideal student here, has been doing particularly well in her arts and arithmetic courses, and she's doing _far _better than she was 2 years ago in her moral education classes and--"

"Mr. Hanamura, I know."

The teacher and Kanako's "dad" were sitting next to each other on a bench watching Kanako run and bound about the school playground, Kuro in tow, against the same purple sunset that Haruka stood under.

"Then why move _now? _Surely your job can wait another month for her to finish the year out?"

Keitaro shook his head. "Mr. Hanamura, it's really best that I get her moved in and adjusted as soon as possible." _'Even more important to get her out of that damn house.'_

"But she was doing so well..."

"And she'll keep doing well," Keitaro interjected. "Kanako is a smart little runt. She'll be fine."

Kanako slid down a slide, face first, and then broke out into mad giggles as Kuro followed, landing on the back of her head.

Keitaro just nodded. "Really, really smart. All the time."

"Yup." Hanamura huffed, slapping Keitaro on the back before standing to his feet. "Alright, then. Good luck in Kanagawa, Mr. Urashima."

Kanako was laying flat on her back, holding Kuro up with both hands, giggling cheerfully at the mewling cat.

"Throw it in the air!" Keitaro yelled.

"Huh?!" She tilted her head back to look her father.

"Nothing! Come on Kanako, time to go!"

* * *

"Hey, daddy. Why're you smiling so much?" Kanako smiled up at Keitaro, her hand in his, swinging their arms together as she walked alongside him. Kuro remained tucked under her arm, seemingly content to remain quiet as they made their way home.

"Am I?" Keitaro really _couldn't _stop smiling. Getting Kanako resigned from her old school was a major step towards...was it freedom? Happiness? He didn't know; it just brought him closer to the chance of being away from _there..._and for him, that was enough.

"I guess I am." He adjusted his glasses, sliding them up the bridge of his nose with the palm of his hand. Kanako's bookbag dangled off the end of his fingers. "I'm just excited to move into the Hinata House. Aren't you?"

Her eyes grew wide, and she nodded excitedly, her long black hair pitching about her face wildly. "Yeah! I can't wait! Why can't we go today?"

Keitaro chuckled at the girl's impatience, and squeezed her hand. "Because I need to take care of a few things at my job, we need to pack, and _you _are going to finish the week out at school.

"Awwww, but daaaady!"

"I'm not your dad. And stop whining," he stated calmly, rolling his eyes when she huffed in displeasure. "Really, Kanako, you can be so immature sometimes," he muttered as he led her up the stairs of their apartment.

"I don't _have _to be mature yet!" She exclaimed, sticking out her tongue at him, and he sneered at her in response. Kuro yowled loudly, and Kanako shushed him with a kiss to the eye.

Keitaro released her hand to open the door.

Kuro yowled again, agitated. His fur rose and his ears pushed back against his skull just as Keitaro pushed the door open, and his world exploded into pitch white and then darkness.

Kanako screamed.

* * *

He was four again, sitting in a sandbox, touching his rosy, blushing cheeks. His _first kiss. _

_Something echoed, and his eyes shot skyward._

The day was beautiful, a bright blue sky dotted with plump clouds, full with what Keitaro thought were rainbows and happiness. Everything was simpler then. Everything was sound. Nothing was falling apart.

"If two people who love each other get into Tokyo U, they'll live happily ever after." The brown-haired girl said, her hands toying in the sand as she spoke, as though she hadn't just kissed him. She was so pretty in her pink dress...Was she the reason he wanted to go to Tokyo U?

_The sound echoed louder, and he looked up at the sky again. He was missing something, but he didn't know what it was._

"Okay," he told the little girl, still staring up at the sky as he spoke absentmindedly. "I promise!"

The world flashed, and suddenly he was running... Running full bore, his little legs pumping as hard as they could as she looked out at him. That sound broke through the sky again.

_Daddy!!!_

"Keitaro!" The little girl yelled from the truck. "Let's meet each other at Tokyo University!!!" She hoped he heard him...but he had already stopped running.

_DADDEEEEEEE!!!_

Keitaro's eyes snapped open, and he discovered he was staring up at the doorpost as he laid flat on his back. He made a gurgling sound; his head was pounding, and he could feel a puddle of warm stickiness forming beneath him. He could hear his heart beating against his brain, and his arms did not want to move.

"DADDY!!!"

Keitaro's blood ran cold through his veins, or at least the blood that wasn't already on the floor, and he froze. Kanako's scream reverberated through the house and echoed between his ears. He had never heard her scream like that..._ever. _For a brief a moment, time slowed to a crawl as he listened to the sounds of her sobs from her room.

"He _ain't _your dad!" came the roar of his father. His voice was distorted by anger, and tinged with a heavy, alcohol related slur. And then came sounds of something heavy smacking against flesh, and more screaming from Kanako.

Suddenly, it didn't really matter _what _his legs wanted to do, or whether or not his arms could not move. He felt like a puppet with no strings; unhinged and loose, and by all rights, _he should not have been moving._

He clambered to his feet, grabbing onto a nearby wall to keep his balance.

"_Daddy." _She was whimpering now, and somehow Keitaro found that more fearful than anything he'd heard yet. The world instantly melted away and he felt his broken body moving of its own accord, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He stumbled forward once, then twice, and suddenly, he broke into a run.

There was no time to think, and even if there were, his mind would not be shaken from its duty. He never noticed the way his boots crunched against the empty, broken liquor bottles strewn about the floor. The shattered glass was speckled with blood, indicative of a bare foot against the sharp edges. He never noticed the dim lighting; the way the sun did not shine through the windows. The only light source was a single lamp that lay precariously on the floor in the middle of the room.

He never noticed the scrap of Kanako's dress that he trampled under foot. No, he merely saw the closed door; he only heard her muffled voice and knew that he had to _get her out._

He did not break stride and, throwing his arms over his head and roaring with all of his might, he crashed into the door with such force that it broke one of the hinges, causing the door to crash noisily to the ground. He only saw his father, doubled over Kanako, holding her down with one meaty hand to her neck with the other raised with an open palm.

Mr. Urashima never had the time to properly look up, as Keitaro had never stopped running. Slamming into his father, Keitaro sent all three of them to the floor as easily as he did the door.

"Get up and run, Kanako!" He yelled.

Keitaro's sister barely had any time to realize what had happened when she looked back at her dad, her eyes wide with silent tears streaming down them, equal parts terror, misery, and relief swelling in her chest as she stared at the scene: her dad keeping _that man _pinned to the floor, despite the blood seeping from the gash that was atop his head. "Da-daddy?" she cried out for him.

Keitaro took a ham-fisted punch from the man to his eye, the punch easily breaking his glasses into many pieces. His head bounced back from the blow, but he managed to keep Mr. Urashima firmly pinned to the floor. _"Outside, _Kanako! _NOW!" _he bellowed.

Kanako squeaked at this new, terrifying version of her daddy's voice, and did as he ordered, running as quickly as she could out of the room. Trying to ignore the sounds of fists striking bare flesh and the yells of fighting, she ran as quickly and nimbly as she could. She hopped over the shards of glass, crying out in pain as she slipped on a small piece of a broken bottle.

She ran outside the apartment, and just stood on the porch for only a moment, staring out at nothing with terrified eyes. Dropping to her haunches and hiding her face in her knees, she wrapped her arms around her legs and sobbed uncontrollably.

* * *

Keitaro stumbled backwards, rising from his father's unconscious body and stared at it for a long while as he took a moment to take a deep breath and wipe his bloodied knuckles against his pants. He swallowed, tasting something metallic in his mouth. Fighting against the earthquake inside his skull, he turned his gaze to a nearby mirror. His left eye was swollen and black and he had a sizable lump on the back of his head.

As much as he wanted to take a rest and lie down, he knew better. "Too much to do," he mumbled in a raspy tone. He began wandering about Kanako's ruined room and stuffing as many of Kanako's clothes and toys as he could into her 'Hello Kitty' book bag, frantically grabbing what he thought she might need.

His addled mind never noticed her suitcase sitting beneath the ruined door, so he just wandered out of the room to the nearby bathroom. Opening up the medicine cabinet, he jammed a bottle of aspirin and gauze bandages into the bag, which now looked as though it would soon burst from the seams.

Kuro followed Keitaro as he walked dazedly out of apartment, curiously staring and mewling at the young man.

Noticing Kanako's sandals near the door, Keitaro scooped them up with shaky hands, walked out the door, and immediately crouched down in front of Kanako.

Kanako sniffled, and he smiled at her with a swollen eye and blood stained lips. "Come on, let's get you all cleaned up, hm?"

"My feet hurt," Kanako mumbled, sniffling and hiccupping as she stuck her feet out, revealing tiny shards of glass that punctured them and the beads of blood that flecked around the bottom of her feet.

"Okay." He went about picking the pieces out before wrapping her feet in gauze. When he was certain his first aid was acceptable, he pressed the backpack into her hands. "You carry this, and I'll carry you. We're gonna play the piggy back game now, okay?"

Kanako sniffled and nodded, holding out her arms. Keitaro scooped her up, and she looped them around his neck for a long, teary hug.

"Can…can Kuro come?"

That day, she could have asked for the sun, and he would have promised it to her.

"Yeah. Lets all go...Kuro, you and me. Let's head to the Hinata House."

* * *

**AN:**

**1. So, yeah, for the sake of explanation here. I could have just as easily stuck Keitaro and Kanako in front of the Hinanta house, and said "Okay, here they are!" this chapter, but I didn't really think that would be adequate. Next chapter is pretty much game time, though. I've just started it though, so please give me some time to get it all sussed out.**

**2. Okay, you guys have made it... overwhelmingly clear that you love Motoko, so, I hear you guys opinion, and it is noted. As for who I picked...honestly? It's early yet, and it might be a few before Keitaro starts to settle in and get all romantic and such and such. **

**3. Just to reiterate. The amount of favorites and reviews and alerts is scaring the piss out of me.**

**4. Please keep reviewing! I'll try to respond to them, as best I can. Thanks everyone, and I hope this chapter didn't put you all off too much.  
**


	3. Building Keitaro

**AN: Alright, so this one is considerably longer, but I think I'm pleased with how it turned out. This chapter was tough to write, and went through a ton of revisions, but it's certainly better for it. A big thanks to Arvel for checking over it and willing to tell me 'Not good enough' and Cizzy for making it readable. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did writing it.  
**

* * *

This was all cute in a _very _disgusting way. Kanako was... well, there was water running down his back, and it wasn't raining. He had his arms looped underneath her legs, and her arms looped lazily over his shoulders, her face mashed against the back of his neck in some sort of permanent kiss, complete with saliva dribbling down as she snored noisily.

Kanako and Keitaro were, admittedly, a strange sight most days. This day, at worst, they looked like they were homeless, at best escapees from a hospital armed with only gauze. Her feet were dressed in tightly wrapped gauze booties, he was wearing a hat of gauze, and his hands wrapped in the same way a boxer's might before putting on his boxing gloves.

Neither had washed since the incident, so they were both stained with some manner of blood and dirt.

And Kuro... The infuriating floppy eared _being _just followed him from a fair distance behind.

It was under the night sky that Keitaro carried Kanako to the train station, tickets intended for later in the week in hand. It was a particularly nice night out, with the moon shining brightly and the stars blanketing the sky. It was a nice juxtaposition to the rest of the day.

"Tickets, sir?"

He hadn't noticed that he'd arrived at the station. It was quiet like the rest of the city, sitting high on a hill and hidden well out of sight; a wooden platform overlooking the train tracks, lit only by the overhanging fluorescent lights that buzzed and sparked with age.

"Yeah, right here."

He had to release Kanako's leg to dig into his pocket for the tickets, and she instinctively squeezed tighter around his neck to keep from slipping off. He slipped the tickets under the ticket taker's window, and gave his best winning smile. There were more than a few rivulets of blood running through his teeth.

"What'd you do, get in a fight?"

Keitaro just snorted at that. "Something like that, yeah."

The ticket man, a black haired guy that was a little over Keitaro's age, gave a laugh, and tilted his head at the sleeping Kanako. "Look's like she kicked your ass." He glanced down at the tickets, furrowing his eyebrows at the date. "You're a bit early, ain't ya?"

Another nod. "Yeah, look, if it's not too much trouble--"

"Not at all, man." The ticket man winked, and punched the ticket. "Hope you find what yer' lookin' for in Kanagawa, man. Just soldier on, alright?"

"R-really?"

The guy gave another wink, and with a wave of his hand and some flourish, gestured past the booth towards the train that sat quietly under the night's sky.

"Really. Move the hell on."

Keitaro gave a quick thanks, and took the guy's advice. He carried Kanako all the way to the train, taking a moment to catch the silhouette of the city. It didn't seem fair for such an ugly place to look so gorgeous, with its flickering lights and over-passing airplanes. It glittered prettily against a full moon, like the surface of a diamond.

He snorted, and spat in the direction of his house. "God _damn _you." And then he climbed the steps to the train, and made his way to the very first car of the train. Because there was no way in hell he was looking back.

- - - - - - - - -

_This is Kanagawa Station. Kanagawa Station is the last stop. Please make sure you take all of your baggage with you, and please, have a nice day._

Her eyes snapped open at the dulcet voice. She winced at first, and covered her eyes in an attempt to block the sun filtering from the window into them, her bangs shifting mercifully across her face.

The second thing she caught was her daddy's face. Sitting straight up, he still had his broken glasses on, while his eyes were squeezed tight. He had her all snuggled against up against him, and she relished in that feeling, pressing her head against his chest and smiling softly. She tried to match her breathing with his, slowly inhaling and exhaling.

_Kanagawa Station, please make sure you take all your baggage with you. _The voice boomed again, and finally, Keitaro's eyes opened, and met dark brown eyes.

"Hey."

"G'morning dad."

"M'not your dad." He mumbled, and she just giggled at that.

He rolled his drowsy eyes, and tilted his head at her. "You okay?"

"My feet still hurt."

His expression softened, and he ran a hand through her ebony hair. "We're almost there, Kanako. You can soak your feet once we get there, okay?"

She nodded against him. "Are we playing the piggy back game again?"

God, he was sore. His joints ached, his head still throbbed, every shift and every movement she made against him stung in concert with the injuries that _man _gave him. Regardless, he pulled Kanako a tight hug, and pressed his lips against her forehead. With that same move, he held her so that she could see him eye to eye. "Yeah, lets play the piggy back game one last time."

- - - - - - - - -

And damned if he didn't forget about the obscene amount of stairs leading up to the Hinata House.

_"Kuro!" _Kanako chirped.

Yes. Little Kuro was back, and it seemed intent on tripping Keitaro by crossing between his legs over and over again with each step he took. He didn't know how the cat followed them on the train or where it hid or how it was sustaining himself, but this affirmed that the cat was the _devil._

Keitaro stumbled up one step, nearly pitching forward as the cat leapt onto Kanako's bag, and hung there for dear life.

_"I hate you." _He hissed at the cat.

"What'd you say, daddy?"

He replied by releasing a sound that embodied his frustration thus far, a growl combined with a gurgle combined with a sneeze.

"You made a shmurfle!" Yes, Kanako named that particular noise, and though Keitaro didn't know it, she had him averaged to around three shmurfles a week. Except for the week when she ate all her snacks in one day. That week Keitaro managed seven shmurfles.

The second they reached the peak of that particular mountain, the two ended up staring at the mansion that was the Hinata House. "Woooow... it's so _big_!" Kanako gaped openly at the Hinata House. "It's a lot bigger than I remember!"

Keitaro nodded dumbly, from the cherry blossoms that fluttered across the sky, to the viridian trees, to the gaping archway that welcomed him onto the path towards the pitch white double doors, even to the massive Hinata household itself, which _had _to have seen renovation and expansion since the last time he'd seen it...

The place looked nothing like home...it felt nothing like he remembered, either. This was new, and in a way, exciting. In other ways? Completely and utterly _terrifying._

"Daddy! Come on! Come on!" She kicked at his sides like a jockey, and he, with little thought, obeyed. He opened the doors, staring at a living room he very much remembered, only with far fewer people this time: just an empty room with polished plywood floors, a couch, a television screen, and a staircase. It was all rather rustic... and _big._

Keitaro set the small girl down on the couch, and settled down onto his haunches in front of her. "Alright," he huffed, "let's get a good look at your feet, hm?"

She gave a giggle, and swung her gauze covered feet in his face, narrowly missing his somewhat swollen eye. Layer after layer, he peeled away the gauze padding off of her foot.

"Huh..." Holding her feet steady, he ran his fingers over them, noting the lack of protests from the girl. Thankfully, the cuts were entirely minute. "Okay, so the good news is that you're not dying, and you'll be good to go in a few days."

"You sure?"

He smirked at that.

"Yeah, I'm sure. You wanna give walking a shot?"

In response to _that, _she hopped off the couch, landing easily on the bottoms of her feet, wincing.

"Good." He stood to his full height and patted her head. "I'm gonna probably take a nap here for a second, give your feet a good soak at the hot springs, alright?"

Kanako just gave an eager nod. "I _love _hot springs!"

He sat back against the couch, and rested his head. "Don't go too far in, and--"

"--Make sure I don't splash. I remember dad!"

"I'm not your dad." He huffed, and she politely ignored him. For one reason or another, as he watched her tip-toe off, her reference to him didn't bother him as much as it usually did, probably because she mostly reminded him of a hurt puppy now.

Keitaro leaned back, and closed his eyes. For once in his life, sleep came easy. Although in hindsight, he'd have probably found this suspicious.

Nothing _ever _came easy.

- - - - - - - - -

Anyone will tell you, the worst part of getting into a hot spring is getting out of the hot spring, and it was for exactly this reason that Mitsune and Naru had spent the last hour in the hot spring just... sitting. Neither wanted to experience the extreme cold that came with climbing out of the onsen, so...

"Ah'm not gettin' outta this thing." Mitsune Konno, completely naked and resting back against the flat rock of the hot spring. Her silver hair was matted to her head due to the steam. "Ah... its got me Naru... it's too nice... Ah should be inside writin', but it's too much."

Naru gave a bubbling sigh as she sank just beneath the surface, her eyes poking out from the top of the water. "Blllbbblblllbbbl." She gave a slow nod.

"Ah _know. _Sometimes ah think Granny Hina jus' makes this place feel _too _good sometimes."

Naru nodded and closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the sound of bamboo occasionally snapping against rock, and the pleasant tone of water dripping into the springs.

"Bllbbb..."

"Ah know, right?"

The sounds of another pair feet entering the pool interrupted their discussion, followed by the croon of high pitched humming.

"Kinda off pitch, ain't she?"

"You know the song?"

"Ah heard it before, once er' twice."

Naru popped out of the water, and began her backstroke towards the front of the pool, towards the sound of the music.

Kanako kept singing, paddling her little string bean legs against the water, back and forth. _'Daddy was right. This feels niiiice.' _She thought to herself as she hummed, completely oblivious of the brunette haired shark making her way across the water.

To Naru's credit, all she saw through her blurred vision was a roughly Shinobu shaped blob that sounded a lot like Su's high pitched, carefree voice. It was a toss-up.

"What song is that?" Naru rose out of the water, smiling as wide as she could.

The smaller girl tilted her head, her singing hitched in her throat as the older girl _popped _in front of her face.

"Hmm? I dunno, just somethin' I learned at school." Kanako just shrugged, and kept kicking her feet. "Who're you?"

"Eh?" Naru, taken aback for only amount, smiled wide as soon she figured out what was happening. "Su! Don't play so much, we're supposed to be relaxing here!" She laughed, sidling up to the smaller girl and nudging Kanako's legs with her elbow.

"Who's Su?" Kanako shifted away from the brunette, and started kicking her legs like she once saw a pro swimmer do on television.

"Eh?" Naru leaned in close to the girl, uncomfortably close, with her eyes squinted; but all this did was agitate the not-Su, who was now leaning as far away as she could without losing ground to the invasive older girl.

"_What?" _Kanako asked, managing to sound as annoyed as she was frightened, and there was quite a bit of both in her voice.

"Hey Naru, who's this?"

Kanako's eyes snapped towards the silver haired, narrow eyed woman that'd began making her way across the onsen towards them.

"It's not Su?" For some reason, the realization caused Naru to lean in closer to Kanako.

The little girl leaned even further from Naru. "_Stop it."_

_ "_S-sorry." She sat back up, and quickly pulled her glasses on... and as her fog on the world lifted, she found herself staring down at a little girl dressed in a black dress, ripped at shoulder, causing it to slink off in the most racy of ways. "What happened to your dress?"

"Nothing." Kanako snapped back, scooting as far away from the other girl as she could. Her feet remained still in the water. "Leave me alone."

"Geez, you don't have to be such a brat about it." Naru mumbled.

"Awww, come on sweetie." Mitsune tried, rising from the steaming water in all her rosy skinned glory, just in front of the perturbed girl. "Ah promise we don't mean no harm, jus' kinda curious where you popped up from is all!" Mitsune leaned forward, and gave her best smile.

Kanako took a deep breath, and her eyes shot open.

"Eh? What's wrong?" At first the girl had just looked annoyed; now she was suddenly shivering, her eyes dilated and her mouth agape, fixed in an expression that could have only been described as complete and utter horror.

"Jesus..." Naru muttered, standing over the frightened child, holding a towel across herself as she stood out of the water. It was as though she blinked, and in that time, something had gone terribly wrong. "Kitsune, does she know you or something_?"_

"N-n-no..." Kanako mumbled, her hands fumbling behind her, presumably searching for something to move her backwards faster.

"Ah never seen fore_' _in m'life_, _ah swear!" She held her hands up in a panic, before pulling herself out water and scrambling towards the miniscule child. "S'okay, ah ain't gonna hurt ya, ah swear!"

The scent of alcohol, sake, in fact, hit Kanako full force. The girl was instantly focused on Mitsune Konno. She never noticed how Mitsune had grabbed onto her forearms, or how concerned Mitsune was as she tried to calm the panicked girl down.

She could only smell that sickly sour scent that burned her nostrils, that familiar yet alien musk that, as of recent, she'd learned to fear. Weakly, she tried to shuffle backwards, no longer capable of recognizing that there _was _no backwards anymore, she idly kicked her legs as pressed as hard against the wall as she could.

"Sweetheart, I need you to calm down, okay?" Kitsune tried, leaning closer to the girl, running a hand through her hair while whispering promises of everything being okay.

Kanako yanked her arms out of Mitsune's grasp, staring at the silver haired woman as though she were a monster crawled from the black lagoon.

That look of complete and perfect terror gave Mitsune pause, the way the girl's eyes bugged out and her mouth suddenly locked in a silent scream... She felt as though she'd been dumped in ice water. It caused Mitsune's outstretched hand to fall limp to her side, and she couldn't bring herself to chase after the girl.

"Wh-what's that look for, huh, sweetheart?" Kitsune asked with what she had left of a smile. Her voice was half-hearted, and weak. "What's wrong, huh?"

"N-no!" Kanako yelled in response, and hobbled past Naru as quickly as she could, brushing past the longer haired girl and out the door before anyone could say anything else.

Naru and Mitsune, for the briefest of moments, stood silently, completely frozen as they attempted to process what they'd just experienced.

"Hey, Kitsune, you sure you haven't seen her before? Maybe you said something to her?" Naru shook her head, and began wrapping herself more properly in a towel. "Who was she, anyway?"

"Darlin', I didn't say nothin' I wouldna' said ta' Shinobu or Su."

Naru raised an eyebrow.

"I ain't _that _bad!"

The eyebrow raised yet further.

Mitsune raised a single finger in protest before pausing to think, and lowering it again. "Ain't we chasin' a kid?!"

The two nodded to each other, and made after the child, swinging open the door and dashing out into the lobby area... only to freeze stock still the moment they caught sight of the bandaged young man comforting the girl.

"He's gone now, okay, Kanako?" He rested his forehead against Kanako's, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "We got far, far away from that place."

"But..." Kanako shuddered, and shook her head. "The bad lady... she smelled _just _like he always did, and she tried to grab me, and...--"

"She tried to _grab _you?" His eyes narrowed, and nearly immediately, he tried to get onto his feet. However, Kanako made sure to keep her grasp on his shirt collar tight, effectively keeping him planted in his seat, and unwittingly giving him time to think.

'_It probably wouldn't be a idea to start a fight here, anyway.' _He gave a sigh, and patted his lap. "Fine. Come on, have a seat."

She gave a weak nod, and clambered into his lap, sitting so that she could lean sideways against his chest. "Like this, daddy?"

Keitaro rolled his eyes. "Kanako, I'm _not _your dad."

Naru and Kitsune remained standing at the door, completely shellshocked for two completely unrelated reasons: Naru, because there was _some guy _sitting on _their _couch in _their _dorm. "She was afraid o' me?" That thought unnerved Kitsune, and she stared blankly at the intruders.

"Kitsune, snap out of it!" Naru nudged the older girl, but Kitsune continued to stand there, her mind in far off places, fixated on the little girl. "Whatever." Naru mumbled, and approached the pair, leaving Kitsune to her own dazedness. "What do you think you're doing here?!" She yelled, her fists clenched at her side. "This is a girl's dorm!"

Keitaro's arms squeezed tighter around Kanako unconsciously, he could only wonder what he might have looked like to the angry brunette. "A girl's dorm? Is that so?" The words came out calmly as he leaned his head back, staring up to the ceiling in silent thought.

"H-hey! Don't zone out when I'm talking to you!" She stomped even closer. "You're not supposed to be here, and what kind of father are you? Bringing your kid here while you try to sneak a peek at a poor defenseless girl, huh?"

He was far too tired to argue and simply gave a heaving sigh. Kanako wasn't. Like a prairie dog, she popped her head up, and stuck her tongue out at Naru. "Daddy's a _good daddy _and you're just stupid and _ugly_!"

"You _little--"_

"Kanako!" His voice cracked like a whip, and even Naru suddenly felt a shudder down her spine at the sound of the "daddy" voice. Even Kitsune snapped out of her reverie at the tone of his voice.

"But she said..." Kanako sputtered, but just as quickly fell silent at his voice.

"I heard her. What did I say about throwing those words around?" He asked testily, his lack of sleep and fatigue fueling his temper. She squeaked, and buried her head back in his chest before shaking her head. He gave a long yawn, and his eyes slowly came to a close.

"Hey, don't fall asleep. I'm still talking to you..." Naru muttered.

"Yes... yes you are." Keitaro sighed, and opened his eyes, still staring at the ceiling with tired, bloodshot eyes.

"So, what _are _ya doin' here then?" Kitsune asked. She made to take a step closer, but noticed the way Kanako cringed further against Keitaro's body, and chose to stay where she was.

Keitaro _also _noticed, and turned his head _just _so he could catch sight of the silver haired young woman.

"That's her, Kanako?" He turned his head again, and looked down at her.

A quick nod gave him his answer as she tried to shrink in further against him. He wouldn't be able to stand with her clinging against his chest like that. "Did you grab Kanako?" He asked, snapping his head back around at Kitsune. He felt his temper swelling in his chest in a white-hot heat as he looked at her.

"N-...yeah, but I was just--"

"Stay away from her." He stated the words firmly, resolutely, being sure to keep eye contact with her.

"But..." Kitsune soon found herself staring at the ground, uncharacteristically quiet and subdued. Finding no words, she merely turned around and slunk back into the hot springs, closing the door behind her.

"You... you all shouldn't be here in the _first _place!" Naru snapped, only to look back and forth from the onsen door, to the trespassers sitting so nonchalantly. "Don't _move! _I'll be back for you in a second, pervert!" Turning on her heels, she ran after Kitsune, disappearing into the hot springs after her best friend.

"I don't like _them." _Kanako mumbled into his chest.

"Really? I couldn't tell." Keitaro gave another shmurfle, and Kanako released a pleased squeal as Haruka walked in from the outside, her ever cigarette dangling precariously from her mouth.

"You guys look like you've been through a meat grinder." She exhaled smoke, and gave a hint of a smile as Kanako came bounding up to her. "Come on, let's get you all cleaned up."

* * *

Kitsune never acknowledged that Naru walked inside, nor that the younger girl sat down besides her. She simply continued to stare off into the misty nothing with her back against the old craggy wall, her knees held tight against her chest.

Naru said nothing, and knew better then to try and push for any answers from Mitsune. She opted to wrap an arm around the other girl's shoulders, and sit in companionable silence.

- - - - - -

"So that's how this happened_?" _Haruka asked calmly, and spoke with her common, deadpan drawl. However, this was much the same as the Japanese Fugu fish; unassuming and droll, until you put your hands on it.

Thats when you _die._

Keitaro sat on the toilet, across from Kanako. Both staring quietly at each other as Haruka stood there, staring in the mirror, her face betraying tumultuous emotions that flickered in her chocolate eyes. Her jaw clenched and unclenched as she squeezed the sides of the sink with her hands.

Finally, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You okay, Kanako?"

The smaller girl gave a quick nod. "Uh huh! Daddy came and saved me and made me all better!" Kanako gave her biggest smile, and kicked out with her feet again, raising her arms in the air as though she were on a roller coaster. "And we're gonna live with you now, Haruka!"

_Thwap! _Haruka snapped a fan against Kanako's head like a pro, knocking the girl back into the bathtub, dazed and confused with a goofy smile on her face.

"That's Aunt Haruka to you, brat." She turned to Keitaro, and gave an odd smile. "Anyway, let's see what the damage is on that hard head of yours." She stared for a moment longer. "And take those glasses off. You look _ridiculous."_

Keitaro did as he was told, unwrapping his head and knuckles in a matter of moments, revealing a large brown patch hidden under his hair. His knuckles were much the same, with dried blood and brownish, ugly scabs where most of the violence occurred.

"_Of course _it's already mostly healed, because my nephew is a mutant." She sighed at that, and grabbed a nearby rag she had dousing in the sink. "You know, you could've at least taken some of the money Granny Hina offered you, Keitaro. Hand."

He held his hand out, and she began dabbing the rag against his knuckles.

"I could've, but I know better, Aunt--" Her grip on his hand tightened, and his voice raised an octave. "Haruka! I mean Haruka... uh...You've got the grip of an _gorilla."_

"And don't you ever forget it. Answer the damn question." She went back to dabbing at his knuckles. "She offered you money to help, so you didn't _have _to take the job... it would've been easier for you to just take the money and support yourself that way."

"Like I said, I _knew _better."

"Did you?" She let go of his wrist. "Other hand."

Holding up his other hand, she took it roughly, and began dabbing at it with the rag.

"The Hinata house was losing too much money. No way you all could've supported a family of... two and a half. Hell, that's why you all switched from being an inn to student housing, right?"

She snorted, and dropped his other hand. "We could have managed. Lean forward?"

He did so, wincing as she began cleaning the wound. "Kanako and the old man. They were my responsibilities. I don't regret it, Haruka."

Her hand stilled on his head, and she gave a long sigh. "That's what it was really about, wasn't it? You had no idea we were losing money until you found out Granny made this place a dorm... little liar."

He said nothing in response.

"Keitaro, _we _are family. That means Granny and me too. If you hadn't been so hard headed and told us what was _really _going on, then..."

"Then you woulda' come to get us, I know. If I hadn't been young and stupid, I would have done it, Haruka."

Haruka laughed, and tapped him on his head. "Well, well. You're learning." She stood up, hands on her hips. "That settles it then."

"Oh! Oh! Oh!"

Keitaro and Haruka both turned to see Kanako sitting in the tub, with her hand raised, a large smile on her face. "Can I ask a question?"

Haruka looked at Keitaro, and he shrugged.

"I'm hungry!"

Keitaro raised an eyebrow. "That... wasn't a question." Regardless, he looked over at Haruka. "We haven't really eaten since..."

He was silenced with a raise of Haruka's hand. "No problem. I'll kill two birds with one stone, then. Be in the kitchen as soon as you and Kanako get cleaned up, Ill try to have everything ready by then.

Keitaro raised an eyebrow at the mischievous glint in Haruka's eye. He didn't even know she could _do _that. "Everything?"

"Oh, you know Keitaro. Dinner with your new tenants, of course." She turned, and opened the door. "Towels are in the cabinet."

And then the door shut.

"Oh god."

"Dinner!"

- - - - - - - - - -

Granny Hina stood at the dining room door, a sedate smile on her face as she watched the girls... _her _girls gather around the table for the very last time. Taking the time to take in the view, and listen to their chattering as Shinobu set the food onto the table.

Everyone had his or her own job, some noticeably more important than the others.

Motoko, who was at the dinner table early every day like clock work, was given the most important job. Distracting Su from the main course.

"Why won't ya just gimme the banana?!"

Motoko continued dangling the banana just above Su's head, and moving it only when Su _looked _like she was going to reach for it.

"Because you...-" Su swiped for it, and Motoko raised it just out of her reach. "Because then you'll start focusing on something other than this banana. I've been given this duty, and I will _not _fail."

"Just... just gimme the...." Su's eyes narrowed. "I'll go and get some _other _bananas!" She slowly stood out of the chair, her eyes never leaving the banana.

"Then I'll destroy _this _banana."

Su froze in place, her eyes wide.

"Why... why would... you _wouldn't."_

Motoko remained stoic. "I hold no love for these fruits, Su." She squeezed the banana. "Now sit down."

The girl _immediately _planted her butt in the chair, her hands folded neatly on her lap. She might have been the very picture of innocence if she weren't drooling and pouting at a banana dangling above her.

"On your left." Naru said as she slipped her arm past Motoko's head, and set a plate in front of the girl. "I don't _believe _that pervert, talking to you that way, Kitsune..."

Kitsune followed up just as quickly, placing a glass and a set of silverware next to her. "Ah, jus' let it go, Naru. Ain't no way we'll be seein' that guy again, if he's smart anyway."

"Wh-what guy?" Shinbou muttered, bringing in the last tray of food.

"Yes, I'm also _very _curious." Motoko lifted the banana just a bit higher, and Su's eyes followed. "What _guy?"_

_ "_Yup." Naru nodded. "This guy was so lazy that he tried to peek from the _couch. _He was kinda bad at it."

"That might have made an interesting stress reliever." Motoko muttered, unconsciously feeling for her sword at the thought of a pervert who _would not _get up, even when being throttled.

And so the table and the stage was set, nine large plates sitting next to a fork, a spoon, and a knife. The girls opted to sit on the end opposite of Granny Hina, who took her seat at the head of the table. The seats to her immediate left and right were empty, and Haruka sat at the opposite end, across from Hina.

"I leave tomorrow."

The room grew silent, and even Su turned to focus on the older woman.

"But... I thought you said you would leave at the end of the week?" Motoko asked, her voice appropriately soft. She found herself staring down at the plate, and was having trouble meeting the eyes of Granny Hina.

The old woman gave a laugh at Motoko's meek response. "The new manager came early... girls, lets face it, if I waited until this weekend, I would never go."

"But--!" Naru started, but the old woman's hand stopped her dead, Naru's voice suddenly stuck in her throat.

"You all will be _fine. _I would trust--"

"Granny?"

All but Granny Hina turned to the door, finding a young black haired girl with slicked back, wet twin tails. She was wearing one of the old Hinata Hotel robes, which hung loosely on her smallish form, all the way down past her feet.

Behind her, stood a young man wearing the very same robe, seeming decidedly nervous as he stood behind the girl, and clutched her shoulders tightly.

"Graneeee!"

Kanako dashed out of his grip, and hugged her granny from the side, while Keitaro followed closely, a slight grin on his face.

"Hey grandmom. It's... been a while."

The old woman gave a nod, and turned to the many girls.

"This is my grandson, and starting tomorrow, the household manager."

Motoko's eyes grew wide, and in an instant, she was on her feet, pointing aggressively at Keitaro. "This is _highly _inappropriate Grandma Hina! You can _not _expect us to tolerate something like this!"

Naru was just as quick to get to her feet. "Yeah! This is the same guy that was trying to peep at me and Kitsune earlier!"

"Ohhhh, a peep? Whats that, can I eat it?"

"That was him?!" Motoko snapped, and instantly went for her sword.

"Yup_!" _Kitsune chimed in.

Shinobu remained decidedly quiet through the whole thing, watching the way Granny seemed to sag in on herself, her eyes becoming downtrodden. Watching the way a threatened Keitaro pushed Kanako behind him, and had his fists clenched. If this thing went down, she would _not _be stuck in the middle.

Haruka poured herself more miso soup.

"You all don't trust me then." Granny Hina's voice, quiet as it was, sliced through the noise in a way that shouting never could. "I told you that I would find the best manager I could... _I promised._" The old woman gently clasped her granddaughter's hand. "But it appears that my best is not good enough for you all... will I really be unable to find my dream? Will I really have to send my _only _family away?"

"H-hey..." Motoko started, immediately putting her sword away at the sight of a teary Granny Hina.

"I still don't like this..." Naru also sat back down.

Kitsune followed the example of Shinobu, and simply opted to say nothing.

"So... can ya eat a peep, then?"

Haruka raised an eyebrow, and kept eating her soup, watching the events with all the curiosity of watching an umbrella catch rain.

Granny sniffled, and looked up at the rather tense Keitaro. "You... you all will keep him as manager then?"

Naru and Kitsune gave a quick, if unsure nod. Motoko gave a grudging sigh, which was as close to a nod as they were going to get. Su gave a non-committal shrug, and Shinobu, who decided that staying quiet had worked out pretty well for her, remained silent.

"Thank you... thank you so much..." The older woman slowly rose from the table, and gently took Keitaro by the hand. "In that case, I just need to speak with my grandson for a moment..."

Keitaro turned to look at Kitsune and Naru, a cursory, but decidedly scathing glance. Hina caught it, as well. "Oh... Haruka, if you don't mind, could you watch Kanako for us?"

"Yay! Haru--" Kanako started to dash towards her Aunt Haruka, only to stop cold at the sight of the fan. "Auntie... Haruka?" Then fan vanished from Haruka's hand, and before she knew it, her lap had been claimed by the hyperactive nine year old.

"Good thing you're light, brat." Haruka muttered, purposely ignoring the way Kanako had taken to eating _her _food so that she could watch Granny Hina and Keitaro leave the room together.

- - - - - - - - - -

"So..." Keitaro sat down on the couch, and rested his elbows on his knees. "You were just screwing with them, right?"

There was a pause for only a moment, before Hina began laughing hysterically. It was the sound of rain tinkling against glass. "Of course I was, you think I'm gonna spend all night arguin' with a bunch o' students?" She waved the idea off. "I am well aware of who owns the Hinata Household." She looked down and away from Keitaro, licking her lips in thought.

"Keitaro, Haruka told me what happened between you and your fat--"

"_--Don't _call him that, Granny. He isn't. He never was." He snapped, and found himself leaning his head on his hands, decidedly looking away from her.

"Keitaro, there are days when I can't help but feel sad for you... for what you've been going through, and what you're going to _have _to go through with that girl. A part of me is still very, very sorry...--"

He gave a sigh. "Granny--

"Don't interrupt me again, boy."

His mouth snapped shut.

"Sometimes, I get mad at you for lying to me. For telling me that everything was all right when it wasn't. I also know how silly it is to be mad at a grown man for doing what he thought he had to..."

"I was only 16, Granny."

"Age doesn't dictate maturity, Keitaro." She gave a sigh, and leaned back against the couch. "I'm asking more of you now, Keitaro. You've done too good of a job raising Kanako, and now, for better or worse..." She trailed off, her voice becoming lost somewhere in the air.

Suddenly, she leaned forward, her eyes locking onto his. "She thinks you can do anything... so do I, really. This is my home, and those girls are my daughters. They are my treasure, just as you and little Kanako are." A weak laugh. "I'm probably not going to make it back, Keitaro... so I need you to promise me that you'll take care of them as well as you take care of _our _Kanako."

He felt his blood run cold, and opened his mouth to speak, only force his voice to hitch in his throat as she held up a hand.

"Don't do that." She said, calmly. "I'm leaving my family to you now, Keitaro. That, and all it entails... I love you, but even more than that, I trust you." An old smile crossed her face, one that reminded Keitaro of just how aged she really was. "The House keys are in your new room, and everything is in order. Give an old woman a hug, Keitaro?"

Tears streaming down his face, Keitaro felt his body move before his brain had time to give the order. He dropped to his knees and hid his face under her neck, and for the first time in many, many years, cried uncontrollable. For him, it was hard to tell why... for the insurmountable burden being placed on his back? For the loss of a loved one? Perhaps, because he felt like he was already speaking to a ghost.

Regardless, he squeezed her tightly, and sobbed quietly, relishing every time she patted his back, or ran a hand through his hair. For the first in many years, he felt like a child again, being comforted for things now out of his control. He felt like a child... having to be comforted at all.

And all to soon, she gave a lingering kiss to the top of his head, and smiled against him. "Go now. You have a new family to meet."

* * *

**AN: So this was probably the hardest chapter I've ever had to write, and one possible ending that nearly came to be was Kanako being sent away... I really couldn't justify that, though. Anywho, I'll try to keep the ball rolling, so please leave a review on your way out.**


	4. Building Family

**AN: Well, if there was one chapter that I absolutely fearful about putting up, it'd be this one. Anyway, please read it and tell me what you think. Thanks for Arvel and Cizzymac for making this chapter make sense, and I look forward to hearing from you all.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Building Family**

* * *

He had been curled over a piece of glass when she arrived. Piece by piece, he picked up the jagged shards between his index and forefinger and dropped them into a small paper bag.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Cleaning," he mumbled, suddenly feeling like a small child being scrutinized under her gaze. "What do you want?"

The little old woman walked into the room, standing over him as though she were ten feet tall. "You've spent a long time breaking things. All I want is for you to fix one of them."

He released another sob, and curled in on himself, releasing the glass onto the floor again. 'What a nice sound,' he thought as he stared at the floor, oblivious to the red-brown stain that sat just beside him.

"Get up, you've cried enough tears for all of you, now," she said, but the tone of her voice never changed. It remained cold and stoic, dripping with malice. "And it's never done you any good." She set her sizable piece of luggage on the ground, unzipped it, and began digging through a veritable pile of 8 1/2 by 11 paper.

Mr. Urashima dropped a piece of glass against another piece of glass. It still sounded pretty.

She dug out a very specific sheet of paper.

"What is that, Hin--"

"Don't address me so familiarly, you're no family of mine." Her voice cut through his words like glass. "And this." She held the paper out to him, "This is how we start fixing everything."

* * *

Keitaro woke up with a cat on his neck.

"Gak." For the most part, he wasn't really surprised. Or maybe he was just cynical? It was getting hard to tell.

Of course, Kanako was sleeping weirdly. She was sleeping across the top of him. Literally. Her body lay on his chest, her head resting against the floor, and her hands sat firmly on his face and his thigh. Her legs just dangled helplessly off the futon. It was as though she tried to climb into his futon, but gave up and just opted to sleep mid-attempt.

Kuro had at some point in the night opened his door (Which wasn't physically possible... and yet....) and decided to stretch out and go to sleep...On his neck. "I hate you," he rasped at the cat, and set about trying to sit up without waking Kanako. Kuro was promptly shoved off, and just as quickly landed on its feet. The floppy eared cat ambled about in search of a new comfortable bed. It settled on Kanako's book-bag, and hopped inside; there, it poked its head out and opted to simply stare at Keitaro with wide kitty eyes.

"Tch." Keitaro scoffed at the cat. "What?" Idly, Keitaro wondered how this cat was still alive after nearly 3 days of not being fed. In fact, Kuro looked healthier than ever. "You thrive on misery, is that it?"

Kuro gave a short yowl, and disappeared inside the bag. "That's what I thought." He gave the dozing Kanako a nudge against her head, smirking at the way her long hair spilled everywhere. "I'm gonna have to fix your hair before you go back to school, you know that?"

"I'm never going back to school," was Kanako's response, drooling from her mouth and raising a hand to her eye as she tried to wipe the sleep away. "Daddy?"

"Not even a little bit." He mumbled, resting his hand under her head. "You gotta get up."

"Whyyyyyyyyy?" She drawled, ignoring the way he cringed at the sound.

"Because you aren't gonna make breakfast."

Kanako deflated at that. "But I like it here." She snuggled harder against his chest. "Why do we have to sleep in different futons, anyway?"

"Look," Keitaro said with a sigh and sat up. "Tell you what. When we get a chance, we'll push the futons together. That way you can make it into the bed before you fall asleep."

"I made it into bed!"

Keitaro raised an eyebrow.

"I did!"

"Uh huh. So can I get up and make breakfast now?"

She seemed to put serious thought into his request, her finger pressed against her lips as she did the thing where she looked like she was thinking with her eyes scrunched closed and making "Hmmmmmmm" and "Haaaaaaaaa" noises.

"You're doing this on purpose now." His stomach growled, and so did his voice. "I'm hungry. Move."

"Daaaaaaaaad." She whined as she allowed herself to slide off of his body and onto the floor like a wet noodle, flopping onto her side and looking up at him. She reached out and took his hand, lacing her fingers with his. "Every morning should be like this."

He couldn't help but crack a smile at that. "What, waking up in weird positions and having an empty stomach?"

She rolled onto her stomach, and released his hand as he stood up out of the bed. He looked down at her, and gave a sigh.

"You're not sleeping like that."

The sound she made was much like the sound Kuro made when he poked it with a stick. She made even stranger slurring sounds when he grabbed her from under her armpits and dragged her from the floor to the futon.

"Weirdo."

She tilted her head and smiled up at him. "Make sticky buns!"

"Uh huh. I'm gonna feed you mud."

"No you're not!"

"Uh huh. I'm gonna go ask one of the girls to find some mud, and then I'm gonna stick it in the oven for you. How many scoops do you want?"

"Ewwwwwwww!" She grabbed his wrist, and pulled Keitaro's palm over her mouth to hide her face. "Ewwwwwwwww!!!" Soon enough, however, she broke into giggles, and let his hand fall limp at his side again.

Giving a dramatic sigh, he shrugged. "Fine. Fine. Sticky buns for breakfast. Go back to sleep, Kana."

"Mmmm... Okay." She responded, making herself a tightly wound burrito in his blankets. "Love you, dad."

"I love you too. I'm not your dad." He might have walked out with that, but when he slid open the door, at his feet laid a neatly folded robe and, sitting atop of that, a pair of thinly framed glasses. Sitting next to both of those was a card with his name on it, written in lovely cursive. He'd have to thank Haruka later.

* * *

Escapism is the act in which someone attempts to get away from a situation that one finds undesirable, or more than that, unbearable. The thought of something being unbearable is purely subjective. The idea of an unbearable situation is not quantifiable, but is ultimately and wholly tragic. The truest tragedy, however, is the thought of child finding the world unbearable at such a young age.

Enter Shinobu Maehara. Her smallish hands kneaded at the powdery dough on the table in front of her as though she had been doing it her whole life. She hummed to herself in quiet, dulcet tones, losing herself to the patience and rhythm of the sun filtering in through the windows and the music of the crows coming to roost just outside the door.

The morning was perfect. Everything was fine. Here, she was not the loser at school who could not talk to the few people she considered her friends, because a crippling shyness. When her hands were slicing a sweet bun in half with a bread knife, she was not failing in any number of courses at school. When she was taking a perfectly concocted rice pudding out of the refrigerator, she was not-

"Can I help?"

Shinobu squeaked in surprise, her hands clamping down on the bowl of pudding.

Keitaro gave her a small smile and gestured down at the apron he was wearing over his robe. "You kind of beat me to the punch. I was going to do a bit of cooking myself." The swelling in his eye had gone down considerably since the other day, and that certainly made him easier on the eyes, and far less intimidating.

Or maybe it was that she was seeing him when he did not look like he was about to pound someone into the ground.

"U-um." She had to remind herself that he was in her domain. Manager or no, Shinobu knew the kitchen like she knew she hated math. She gave a firm nod. "Yes...um, okay."

He nodded and reached for the dough sitting to the side, pausing as she reached for his wrist, and just as quickly pulled her hands back, as if startled by her own actions. "U-um... wait."

Looking up at her, he gave his best smile. "Don't worry, I washed my hands."

"Oh." Blushing, she looked down at the tray of dough. "Um... ?"

"Just Keitaro, please. No need to get so formal, right?"

"Ahh... sorry. Keitaro," Saying his given name seemed particularly wrong in her mouth. For a moment, the two of them worked in a nervous silence, both trying to find the proper words to start a civil conversation.

In her timidity, Shinobu spouted the very first question that came to mind. "Is Kanako really your daughter?" She clapped a hand back over her mouth. "Oh! I didn't mean... um...."

Keitaro looked up at her, mostly nonchalant, before looking back down and kneading the dough slowly with his mostly healed, but scarred hands. "That's fine," he replied, smiling to set her mind at ease. "Nah, Kanako isn't my daughter. She's actually my sister."

"But... how come...--?"

Lifting a wad of perfectly rounded dough covered in honey sauce, he set it on the pan, ready to be baked. "When she was little, I had to take care of her." Idly, he thought of Grandma Hina as the words came to him. "I guess I did too good of a job."

There was something of a companionable silence as both went back to their respective jobs, Shinobu sticking the first tray of buns in the oven, and turning back to mold the rest. "So, what's your name?" he asked, breaking the silence as he placed the final wad of dough on the pan.

"S-sorry," she stuttered, silently reprimanding herself for not giving her name when he did. "I'm Shinobu." There was another awkward pause as the two stood across from one another. Keitaro sat down on a nearby stool. "I... um..." She held up her finger, and placed the second tray in the oven. "I go to school here, and... um... Sorry, I'm not very interesting."

His smile became a bit bemused at that, and he gave a short chuckle. "I dunno but, shouldn't you leave that up to person you're talking to?"

"Um..." She looked down, and began blushing harder. "Umm...... what..." She was pondering at how old he was. It was not that he had wrinkles or anything. On the contrary, Keitaro was youthful despite the bags under his eyes and the tiny scars that marred his knuckles and his slightly swollen lip. He certainly appeared far too young to be the manager of the Hinata House. But speaking to him, regardless of his young voice, Keitaro sounded much older than he looked.

"Um... how old are you?" She asked somewhat brazenly, desperate to fill the awkward silence that his previous statement caused.

"How old do you think I am?"

"Um...25?" She squeaked the answer out, and nearly dashed out of the room when he gave a sudden bark of laughter.

"Close. 19." Standing up, he moved across the kitchen towards the sink, and picked up a rag. "You're a funny kid, you know that? You must be pretty clever in class, huh?"

And just that quickly, her kitchen, her oasis, was shattered, and she was brought back to the painful realization that she was not an ace student, an expert chef or somebody that was even remotely likable by her peer's standards. She was just Shinobu. "Can... can you finish cooking for me?"

Keitaro was taken aback by the sudden change of tone in the room, and knew better than to try to stop the girl. He certainly didn't know her well enough to try for grabbing her arm. He opted to give the girl a simple nod. "Yeah, no problem."

And just as Shinobu made her way to the threshold of the kitchen, both of them flinched as a shriek tore through the Hinata House. "Yeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah ha ha ha ha ha!"

The next feeling Keitaro felt could not have been described as anything other than a distinct feeling of dread, as though Kuro had finally come to end him, once and for all.

* * *

Su was probably the strangest of all the girls in the Hinata House. At first, an untrained eye might say that this was because of how inescapably intelligent she was, how indescribably high her IQ was, and how inarguably insane she was. This was not wrong, but it also was not the point. Those with sharper eyes might have found themselves intrigued by how, in a house of broken women she was, arguably, the most undamaged person there and somehow retained her innocence in a place like the Hinata House.

But more than that, Su was simply really, really friendly. Which, perhaps, was the strangest thing about her.

It was when Kanako opened her eyes that she began receiving a crash course in Su-isms. When she opened her eyes, Kanako was staring at bright jade eyes, a healthy blush, and dusky caramel skin. But most prominently, she noticed the absolutely sunny smile that ran across the girl's face, exposing her many pearly white teeth.

Kanako could not help but smile back. Hers was a small, shy smile that was not unlike Shinobu's.

But Su had experience with Shinobu, too. "Heyas!" Su said, hanging upside down from her Super Special Automatic Spiderman sticky rope, her hands clasped tightly around the retraction mechanism, which was built in the shape of a donut. "I'm Su! Who's you?"

Kanako tilted her head in wonder and, suddenly, she felt her own smile grow in magnitude. "I'm Kanako." The smaller girl began unraveling herself from her burrito of warmth, pausing to give Su another excited glance before removing herself from the blankets all the way.

"Ohhhhh!" Su squealed at the sight of the younger girl's blue and yellow pajamas, pumping her fist out for effect. "Happy Banana Family! You watch that show?!"

Kanako, sitting on her knees and smiling up at the other girl, gave a quick smile. "Yeah! That's one of my favorites!"

"I want to eat them all!"

"Me too!"

And the bond was made. Just that quickly, Su had Kanako under her thrall.

"I want a banana right now!"

"Me−" Kanako stopped and tilted her head and thought about it. "Daddy's making sticky buns for me today!" Kanako suddenly clambered out of the futon by kicking the blankets off of her body.

"Wait!" Su grabbed her arm with a vice grip, yanking Kanako back. "We gotta tell Naru and Kitsune it's time fer' breakfast!"

"Huh?! But...-- But he's making them for me!" Kanako protested, and tried to yank away from Su, only to realize just how tight the girl's grip actually was. "Ow! Let go!"

"No!" Su snapped. "You would tell your daddy if it was dinner time, right? Kanako was taken aback at how serious Su had gotten all of a sudden. The way the girl's brows furrowed and her eyes squinted and her lips pursed. Somehow, the dark skinned girl managed to look serious, despite hanging upside down.

The smaller, black haired girl gave a firm nod.

"You're right. So--"

"OKAY!" The sun rose again, and Su smiled as wide as she could as she yanked Kanako closer. "I'm gonna pull us all the way to the heavens!"

"Huh?"

It was with that, that Su hit the 'retract' button, and Kanako learned exactly what it meant to fly.

- - - - - - - - -

Naru wasn't exactly like most girls her age. In fact, in some ways, she was more like a 14-year-old girl. She was stuck in that awkward phase where she felt strange in her own body, insecure, but always seeking security in something other than her own confidence. It was because of this that she, for the most part, despised men. How could she understand why guys liked her body, when she barely liked it herself?

She tried her hardest to be more presentable whenever she could, especially when she was out and about. She tried to live up to the pressure of being one of the best cram students in Japan, of constantly being hit on because everyone else thought she was pretty... but she never really saw it herself.

But today, that was neither here nor there. Today, her concern was less on her choice of clothing; an old baggy sweater that smelled like home, and sweatpants that hung around her waist just right. Nor was it on the way her hair wound up in knotted braids and hung down to her waist. Naru was busy studying astrophysics. A subject that was one of 51 that had a 30 percent chance of appearing on the Tokyo U tests.

Of course, that was a rumor of a rumor of a rumor, and the source may have been drunk at the time of conveying the information.

She scoffed at herself, "Stupid." But that didn't stop her from reading the next paragraph. "At the end of the 19th century, it was discovered that, when decomposing the light from--"

Liddo Kun crashed upwards in a wild arc, and landed just next to the reading girl's lap. Naru flinched, and began staring toward the hole in her room, wide eyed and confused as two people came flying out.

She was fairly sure she'd never seen Su do that before.

"Bwa ha ha ha ha!" Su landed on her feet, her finger pointed towards the sky, laughing maniacally even as Kanako landed on her butt.

"We did it! Heya Naru!"

The oldest girl in the room stared at Su and Kanako as though they'd both grown two heads, then looked back at her astrophysics book, then back at the two girls. Naru sighed a martyr's sigh, and waved the two over to the kotatsu. Optimist that she was, there was no way she was going to get any studying done with the hurricane that was Su in her room now. It was best to just ride it out.

Kanako stared at Naru curiously for a moment, drinking in the girl's baggy clothes and big circular glasses and twisty hair. She never noticed Su already dashing over to the kotatsu, hiding her legs underneath.

"Hey." Naru gave a soft smile, recognizing the terrified girl from the hot spring, even with her hair down. She gave Kanako a slight wave. "Are you Su's friend?"

Su gave a loud cheer, complete with the waving of the hands, while Kanako gave a nod, and took a few tentative steps forward.

"Well, there's plenty of space over here for you."

"Yeah!" Su's fists were still pumping in the air. "Come and sit with us, Kanako!"

"Tch," Naru scoffed, "don't get so excited, Su."

This, of course, had absolutely no effect on Su's hyper activeness, and in fact had the opposite effect. Su was just as quickly on her feet, grabbing Kanako by her wrist, and pulling her back to sit down across from Naru.

The black haired string bean had no idea what was happening until it was too late. One moment she was standing in the back, being coquettish, and in the next she was sitting face to face with the glasses-clad girl. Su was scary fast, sometimes.

"Kanako's a pretty name." Naru started, giving her best friendly smile. It surprised her to see Kanako smile back. "You've got a cute smile, too."

The string bean planted her hands in her lap, and blushed warmly at her words. It was one thing to hear from her dad, but a complete stranger? Kanako nodded vigorously at the girl. "Daddy says I'm cute!" She chirped, missing the way Naru's eyes narrowed at the mention of her dad.

"So, why do you keep calling him dad, anyway?" Naru asked, tilting her head and pointing the eraser of her pencil at Kanako.

"Because he's her daddy, Naru!" Su yelled, her hands raised high into the air.

"No way! He's like, my age!" Naru tapped Su on her forehead, causing the girl to tip backwards. "He even said he wasn't her dad."

Kanako, being Kanako, simply raised her nose, and pursed her lips. "I call him daddy because he's my daddy!" There was absolutely no doubt in her voice as she spoke. No wavering or confusion, only a fiery spark in her eye. "And he's the best daddy in the world. He gets me whatever I want and always comes to save me whenever I'm in trouble!"

Su lay on the floor, wide eyed. "That is a good daddy."

"Uh huh." Kanako nodded once, and turned to the tanned girl. "He's really the best, plus he's REALLY strong! He carried me all the way from the train station to here!"

Naru snorted at that. The girl couldn't have weighed more than 50 pounds, from the look of her. After another cursory glance, Naru was willing to bet that the girl's hair made up most of the weight.

"Wow." Su gave a low whistle. "Why am I here when I could be riding his shoulders right now!" Su was up like a gunshot and dashing towards the door without another thought.

"Wha?!" The thought processed more slowly for Kanako, and she sat there for a moment, staring blankly at Naru. The older girl shrugged. And then a lightning bolt struck Kanako as the thought came crashing down. Instantly, she was on her feet. "On my daddy's shoulders?! NO!"

She made a mad dash for the door, only for Su to run back in and flip over the girl's head. In one smooth motion, she slid the door closed, and made sure to hold it closed.

"Oh yeah, Naru! Mr. Manager Man is making us sweet buns!" Sure, Kanako had said that he was making sweet buns for her, but we're all family now, right?

"Hmmm?" Naru raised an eyebrow. "He's really making breakfast for us?"

For a moment, both were interrupted by the muffled banging of tiny fists on wood, and a not so tiny voice, yelling, "Su, you stay away from my daddy's shoulders!"

"Yep!" Su cheered over the noise. "I'm about to go tell Motoko. You tell Mitsune!"

"Right." Naru gave a nod, and watched as Su took a deep breath, swung open the door, and then flipped right back over little Kanako's head.

"Yahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" Kanako yelled.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Su laughed.

* * *

Keitaro watched with sagged shoulders as his younger sister chased a darker skinned girl down the stairs. This was the very same sister who had just been screaming a scream that caused his heart to jump into his throat. A scream that forced adrenaline into his arms and legs and made him chase after her like a dog after a rabbit.

He exhaled, and unclenched his fists.

"This is gonna take some getting used to," he muttered as he watched Naru walk out of her door, across the hall, and tap her fist against the door frame. It was only a moment before the door opened, and she casually stepped inside.

He turned around to walk back to the kitchen.

He was living with a bunch of girls.

Two of which were around Kanako's age.

One was a little older.

The other two were his age.

"It was hard enough when only Kanako depended on me." He walked back into the kitchen, leaning heavily against the counter as the complete weight of the Hinata House fell on his shoulders. He ran a hand through his hair, and tried not to think of the days when it was just he and Kanako. "Things weren't much better then..."

He could not think of a time that he had seen Kanako so lively around anyone beside himself, and he nodded slowly as he turned and pulled open the oven.

"Yeah, I definitely did the right thing bringing her here," he told himself as he checked the steadily swelling buns. "Definitely."

Idly, another thought crossed his mind. "I wonder how long she can keep running like that?" Kanako was many, many things. Athletic was not one of those things.

* * *

"Shhhhhhhh!"

When Kanako made it to the bottom of the stairs, she was panting madly with her hands on her knees, practically wheezing as she came to a slow stop in front of Su. The very same Su who had her index finger pressed against her own lips, and was shushing the tired girl.

"Geez... we just ran downstairs... anyway, we gotta be really quiet! Motoko's practicin' her kendo outside!" She whispered fiercely at the younger girl.

"W-who!?" For some reason, Kanako was whispering too; winded and wheezing, but whispering nonetheless. She didn't really know why. "I don't care about that! You stay away from my daddy's shoulders—Hey, are you even listening to me?!"

Su was not. She was peering just around the corner, watching as her very favorite perch, Motoko, went through the motions of her daily morning routine. Inevitably, Kanako grew more curious and less interested in defending her father's shoulders. Su dropped to one knee so that Kanako could look on as well.

Motoko, meditating as she was, knew they were coming the second they'd left Naru's room. This, however, did not deter her from finishing her exercises.

"Tchhh!" Exhale through the mouth, continue to breathe steadily. "To mould the mind and body." She whispered, extending her blade as far as she could, feeling a slight gust graze the whole of her body as she remained still. Holding the blade as still as she could, she stared forward towards the sunrise.

"To cultivate a vigorous spirit." Pressing most of her weight back on her heel, she used the other to pivot, swinging the blade fast as quicksilver against the red dawn, painting a mirage of dancing fire that was as beautiful as it was menacing.

"Wooooow." Kanako peeked past the railing of the staircase, so that only her eyes and twin pony tails stuck out. Her eyes wide with excitement, she rested her elbows on the ledge and kept watching. Looking down at Su, she grinned.

"It's like in the movies..."

Su never looked away. "Nah. This is way cooler than that."

"Ohhhhh."

They both went silent as Motoko's dulcet voice broke through the air.

"To strive for improvement in the art of Kendo, and to hold in esteem human courtesy and honor." With one clean swipe, she thrust the blade forward, and with another, she brought the blade into her sheath; briefly her eyes fluttered at the sound of metal against hardened leather.

"To associate with others with sincerity." She dropped to both knees, her back remained erect, and her palms pressed against her lap. The swordswoman exhaled and bowed low to the sun, pressing her forehead against the ground. "And to forever pursue the cultivation of oneself."

Kanako was completely shell shocked. She simply stood there, even as Su darted out from under her and dashed towards the swords-woman. The way the sword shined against the sun, the way every slash seemed to give rise to a warm blend of dawn and colors.

"I want... I want that." She whispered to no one in particular. "I wanna do that."

"Hello down there!"

"Huh?"

Su's voice broke her out of her reverie, and soon enough, she was staring at an empty garden. Motoko was standing over Kanako, seemingly not at all bothered by the way Su sat on her shoulders, her hands resting on her head.

"So you're Su's new friend, hm?"

"U-um... yes!" Kanako sputtered, desperate to find the words that seemed to evade her. "Y-you... ahhh... it was-!"

Motoko raised an eyebrow. "Oh no..." She couldn't help it as she spoke. Would she truly be surrounded by fangirls forever? A sigh escaped her lips, and she tried to sneak past the star struck Kanako.

"That was soooooo cool!"

Motoko kept walking, and inevitably, Kanako followed.

"You gotta teach me that!"

"I can not." Motoko responded as quickly as she walked; equal parts trying to get to breakfast, equal parts trying to eliminate what seemed to be a half-Su, half-fangirl thing.

"Awwwww, why not?"

Motoko walked faster, and Kanako walked faster. Su simply giggled and started using Motoko's hair as the reigns, and kicking her feet against Motoko's shoulders.

"Heeeya! Hya!"

The oldest girl obliged Su, and broke into a small jog.

"Why do you wish to learn?"

Kanako, panting madly, answered as best she could. "It... haaaa... it was really pretty!" She exclaimed.

"Pretty?" Motoko did not slow her pace. If she didn't make to breakfast soon, Su might start to get antsy. "What could you possibly find pretty about the art of--"

"It's an ART!?" Kanako leapt into the air, and gave a whoop. "Can I learn? Please?"

Su also raised a fist and cheered. "Art! Art! Let's draw a banana!"

"Let's draw a sword!" Kanako joined in.

Motoko ran a hand over her face. "Truly? How long, Kami? What have I done to deserve this?"

And it was in pleading with her God, that Motoko walked into the kitchen, and found her very male manager in a bath robe standing next to a tray of sweet buns. They were steaming hot, still; golden in color and with the way the sweet buns on the bottom dipped and undulated due to the weight of the buns on the top, they appeared to be soft to the touch, sitting atop a silver platter.

"Hey." He gave a slight wave with the spatula in his hand.

Motoko had Su on her shoulders and a fangirl following her around and now Shinobu was gone. And where were Naru and Mitsune?!

"Where is Shinobu?" Motoko demanded.

"Oh. My morning has been going fine, too. Thanks." Keitaro responded with a raised brow and without missing a beat, turned his attention to the blonde haired girl sitting on Motoko's shoulders. "You must be Kanako's new friend, I saw you all playing earlier."

"Heyas Mr. Manager Man!" The Molmol girl exclaimed. "Ya really made us breakfast, huh?! Huh?! Can I eat em' now?!"

"No." Motoko responded at the same time Keitaro did. "You--" She broke out into a terrible blush, but Keitaro seemed perfectly content to ignore and carry on without her.

"And you can call me Keitaro... or Mr. Manager Man." He looked up at the tiled ceiling in thought. "I guess it doesn't really matter." This girl didn't seem like the type to heed his preferences anyway.

"And you can call me Su! Kaolla Su!"

Keitaro opened his mouth to ask whether it was one or the other.

"Do not ignore me, male!" Motoko barked, her hand reaching for the hilt of her sword. "Where is Shinobu?!"

"SKREEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Keitaro tilted his head to the side only to catch a glance of black hair and banana pajamas running at him.

He sighed. Why couldn't she ever greet him normally him normally? The small girl clasped his hands in hers and stood on his toes, giving him a big smile.

"Hi Kanako."

"Hi daddy!"

Motoko raised an eyebrow. "Daddy?"

"Yup!" Kanako chirped, holding on tight to his hands and leaning back. "Upside dowwwwwwwwwn!"

"Not really." Keitaro muttered, rolling his eyes as Motoko took another menacing step forward.

"If you are her father, you should accept the responsibilities that your actions have brought you!" She withdrew her sword, and held it at the ready. "You... you're the worst kind of man."

Keitaro simply set his jaw, and gently released Kanako's hands before shoving her behind him.

"You want to talk to me about responsibility? How about you put the sword away in front of my sister and her friend?" He snapped back. He couldn't help the sneer on his upper lip, or the clenching fist. He had no idea what he was going to do to someone using a sword, or if he could do anything at all.

"Ohhh..." Su watched with wide eyes. "He looks like bro now."

"Don't change the subject." Motoko snapped back. "I should cut--sister?"

Keitaro nodded, his fists were trembling now, even more than the girl that was clutching his pants-leg for life.

Motoko, watching the pair curiously, sheathed her sword with a quick a swipe, and gave a cursory bow. "I apologize, then. It was a false- Su, would you please remove your hands from my eyes?"

"Sorry! I almost fell off when you bowed!"

Motoko gave a sigh. "I apologize for accusing you, Mr. Keitaro." She finished.

"Uh... it's fine, I guess." He said, nervously scratching the back of his head as Kanako began tugging his pants leg. "Uh, hold on a second." He kneeled down to Kanako's level, and tilted his head closer to hers.

Apparently, she had a secret that she just had to tell.

"What's up?" he whispered.

"I wanna be a NINJA." She tried to whisper... but she was really, really bad at it. Motoko simply stared with wide eyes. She could see where this was going from a mile away.

"Really?" Keitaro raised an eyebrow. "Last week you wanted to be an werewolf."

"They don't have swords. Ninjas got swords. I'm gonna be a ninja." Kanako nodded. "Daddy, can I be a ninja?"

"Sure, I don't know anyone who knows how to use swords. Do you?"

Both Keitaro and Kanako glanced back to look at Motoko. The swordswoman just ran a hand over her face. Keitaro nodded to Kanako.

Kanako suddenly began nodding back eagerly.

"I can ask Miss Mokoko!?"

Motoko rolled her eyes.

"It couldn't hurt." He turned to Motoko again, and stood back up to his full height. "Miss Mokoko. Kanako has something she wants to ask you."

"My name is Motoko." She hissed. She could not appear to be weak, especially to some man. Now, his adorable sister on the other hand...

"I dunno, I kinda like Mokoko... and I could call you KoKo... which sounds like cocoa.... Mmmmmm. I like cocoa." Tendrils of drool began to pour from the sides of Su's mouth as her imagination took over her brain.

The rest quickly went back to the conversation at hand, leaving Su to make her own strange connections alone.

"Kanako, I am not a ninja."

"But you know how to use a sword, right?"

"Yes, but-

"Okay! Ms. Motoko, could you teach me how to use a sword so I can be a NINJA?" She bounded up to the older girl, and gave her best winning smile, showing all of her pearly whites in the process.

Motoko looked up at Keitaro for help, but he just shook his head and mouthed the words, "One week."

She nodded at him, and unfortunately, Kanako saw this as a nod to her as well.

"I'm gonna be a NINJA!!!" She cheered, and punched Keitaro in the leg.

"Huh?"

She looked up at him expectantly.

"Oh. Owwwwwwww!!!" Suddenly, he was slain, and dropped to his knees. "You got me... Kanako." And then he fell on her.

"Auuuuugh!" Kanako suddenly began flailing madly as she collapsed under her equally scrawny brother, who weighed about as much to Kanako as the Hulk would to a body builder. "Su! Su! Get the dead man off of me!"

"OOOOOKAY!!! Su's got him under control!" A quick flip forward, and Su was off of Motoko's shoulders and straddling the back of his head, while pounding it with her fists.

Motoko just watched with something of a smile on her face. Whatever it was that she had originally expected from her new male landlord, this was not it. And she wasn't sure if she minded at all.

- - - - - - - - -

Whatever Naru had expected from Mitsune Konno when she first walked in, this was not it, either.

"Hey Naru." The silver haired Mitsune was sitting in a corner, both knees held to her chest, and a bottle of alcohol clenched tightly in her fist. In her other hand was a photograph.

Naru's eyes trailed over the room, taking in the way her friend's bookcase was emptied all across the floor, all trailing towards her, culminating into a simple photo album she had opened on the floor. "Jesus, Kitsune, what did you do to your bookcase?"

"Hm?" Mitsune kept bumping her own leg with the nearly full bottle of sake', and continued staring down at the photos, her eyes furrowed with hurt running across her brow.

Naru didn't even have to look to know what part of the photo album had Mitsune so distracted. "Kitsune, why're you doing this to yourself?" Naru asked, carefully hopping over a precariously positioned pile of books on character building to get to the corner where Kitsune sat. "You're gonna be really annoyed when you have to get all this cleaned up."

A nod was the only answer Naru got, and the only answer Naru expected as she slumped down next to Kitsune, sitting shoulder to shoulder with the other girl.

Kitsune tapped a picture of a silver haired 5 year old playing with a taller man. There was snow everywhere, and her hair was vibrant in comparison. "You remember what he told me that day?"

"No, I don't think you told me this one." Naru said, but she remembered clearly. Kitsune told her any time she was drunk. She supposed it meant something that Kitsune was telling her while she was sober.

"He told me, and this was later that night, he told me that what happened to mom... what happened to him... didn't matter, that he loved me all the same." She raised the bottle in salute to her father. "And now I look at myself, and I still kinda wonder if it's all my fault that I turned out this way."

Naru didn't answer.

"Ya know what's funny Naru?" Somehow, Naru knew it wasn't going to be funny at all. "The way the new manager looked at me is the same way I used to look at dad. And the way he looked at her is the same way I wish dad looked at me. Makes ya wonder, don't it?"

"What?"

Mitsune snapped the album closed. "Nothin'. What'd you come to visit me for? Is breakfast ready yet?"

Naru stared at the older girl for a long while, she'd known her for a long time... yet something had changed in Kitsune, and she had no idea when that happened. And she had no idea what was scarier: that she did not know when Mitsune had gotten so miserable, or that she had no idea how to help.

"Whoooooooo..." Mitsune waved her hands in front of the brunette's face. "Ya payin' attention to me? Didn't hear a word I said, didja'?"

Naru blinked, and found herself looking staring Mitsune again. "Sorry, yeah. The Manager made sweet buns for everyone." Naru pushed herself back up to her feet. "Coming?"

Kitsune took hold of Naru's arm and pulled herself up, bottle in hand. "Let's go."

* * *

"Wait, you have a cat?" Su asked Kanako from across the table, eyes wide with excitement at the thought of a cat in the Hinata House. "Where do you keep him?"

"Oh... Kuro only comes out when he wants to." Kanako responded, idly nibbling on a sweet bun. "He's like magic!"

Keitaro felt a growl growing in his throat at the thought of the cat. THAT cat.

"Ohhh... where is he now?"

Kanako shrugged, and looked at Keitaro.

"I think he's still hiding in your bookbag." Idly, he wondered if he should have zipped it closed.

"Daddy bought it for me because he loves me so much!"

Su gave an "Awwww..." while Motoko just smiled.

"That was very nice of you." Motoko said.

Keitaro responded with a tight smile, and nodded. God, how he despised that cat...

And it was on that note that Naru and Kitsune walked in.

Instantly, the temperature in the room dropped. Naru stiffened, and tried to keep the smile on her face as she sat down next to Keitaro, and Mitsune across from her. For a long while, no one said anything as Mitsune set the bottle on the table, and reached for sweet bun.

"Thanks for breakfast Mr. Manager!" She chirped with a foxy smile, and Naru followed suit.

"Yeah, it was really nice of you to do this." Naru chimed in.

Keitaro never heard that part. He could only feel Kanako's hand on his as he stared dead at Mitsune.

She had barely gotten through her first bite before he spoke again.

"Get rid of it." He said cooly, his jaw clenched. It was hard for him to tell if there was as much anger welling up as there was fear. "Now." His voice was every bit as aggressive as his eyes were.

Naru stared wide-eyed as Kitsune simply finished her bite, and took the bottle into her hands. She recognized that tired look that overtook Mitsune's eyes. The look that only appeared behind closed doors. The complete and empty fatigue in Kitsune's smile was clear only to her.

The silver haired woman simply stood up with bottle in one hand, and her sweet bun in the other. She swallowed and looked back at Keitaro with smile to match her eyes.

"It was good. Thanks." And then she walked away.

Naru shook her head and narrowed her eyes at Keitaro before shoving her seat back so hard that it tipped over, and followed Mitsune.

"Daddy?"

Keitaro gave a curse, and stood from the table himself, of course, Kanako quickly folowed, taking a sweet bun and stuffing it in her mouth before taking his hand with her own sticky paws.

He never noticed, and he tried to ignore the way Naru looked at him as they walked down the hall, past Naru's door.

"You barely know her," Naru hissed.

But she never got a response. Keitaro kept walking, storming back to the manager's room, even past Shinobu, who finally made like a meerkat, and stuck her head out of her room. The expression she saw on Keitaro's face caused her to go right back in.

"You alright, Kanako?" He leaned down in front of the girl, and smiled lightly. "Lets move those futons now, okay?"

She gave timid nod and a slight smile, idly knotting her fingers into one another as she looked down at the floor. "M'kay..."

* * *

Kanako was lying face down across both futons when someone came tapping at the door. Idly, Keitaro looked up from his desk to the clock.

"Six twenty-three." He huffed, and looked down at the angry thick marks that etched across his sketchbook. What used to be peaceful images of what he saw were now nightmarish in form, hard to look at in general. "Come in." He called.

The day hadn't been entirely unproductive. At the very least, he got a chance to look over what Hina had been doing with the money that came from it's tenants and the tea house but...Well, maybe he'd deal with that tomorrow.

The door slid open, and Shinobu stuck her head in. "M-Mr. Keitaro? Um... dinner is ready."

He gave a slight smile in return. "Thanks Shinobu, I'll be down in a few."

She gave a timid nod, and the door snapped closed, and not five minutes later, there was more tapping; harsher then Shinobu's gentle touch.

With a sigh, Keitaro stood up and walked over to the door... and immediately experienced an ambush very similar to his previous experience. A fist clenched around his collar, and he was surprised that her gorilla-like strength hadn't waned over the years.

Haruka smiled, and cocked her head. "Hi Keitaro," she said, her unlit cigarette hanging lazily from her mouth. "Let's go some place and talk."

There was little to no time to struggle before he was yanked out of the room, stumbling down the stairs, and out the door. She dragged him down the Hinata stairs with little regard for how he fell or how he twisted or if he hit his behind on the way down. At the bottom of the winding concrete stairs, she gave him a shove back, and lit her ever-present cigarette.

"Haruka! What the he--" He struggled to his feet, only to be stopped by a withering glance from the woman.

"I'd watch my tone if I were you, Keitaro." Nothing about her voice gave away her swelling temper. "Cause I'll knock you all the way back home to your daddy and tell Granny you decided to leave."

Keitaro felt a cold nothingness wash over him, like he was being dunked in cold water. Haruka had placed her threat on the table. It dawned on him that he should have been thankful for the warning.

At first, he said nothing while she took a long drag of her cigarette.

Inhale.

Exhale.

"Haruka...--"

"Hina didn't put you in this position so you could play the martyr, Keitaro. And Mitsune isn't your dad."

He winced. "What are you talking about?

"Really? Are we playing the stupid game? Okay." Again, she took another drag, and exhaled. "You want to think you're in a better place now that you're here? You're not."

He said nothing, and just opted to look down and away from her.

"And I can tell. You're piss scared that Mitsune, a woman you met only days ago, is going to hurt you and Kanako because she drinks. You're protecting your younger sister and daughter from a boogey man your father made.

"She's not my daughter, and he's not my dad." He hissed. Haruka remained decidedly unimpressed. "She's a drunk!"

"You're such a child sometimes. You don't get it, do you? You could change everything if you took those blinders off your eyes and stopped seeing your dad every time you see a bottle of liquor. She isn't him, and word of warning? Unless you want to deal with your dad again, you're going to stop what you're doing tonight."

"What?"

"I didn't stutter, Keitaro. You think if you kept treating her like that I wouldn't react? Then you're bitter AND stupid. Hina raised a family here. All of them. You don't get to choose who's in or who's out. You, as the manager, don't get to pick what to fix, people included."

"That's not my job."

She leaned forward, her eyes deadly serious. "Then get out." She spat just to the left of his shoes. "Why are you here, if not to fix, repair, and take care of the Hinata House. Kei, the Hinata House is more than the premises, so either get in the spirit of things or leave."

For a long while, Keitaro said nothing. And she took another drag.

Inhale.

Exhale.

"Your dad got stuck in his past, and ended up a drunk who couldn't look past his nose. You keep it up and you'll be a bitter idiot who's too busy watching his back instead of the road ahead of him, and in the process, you'll be railroading every other person who stands in your way, including Kanako."

He gave something of a snarl, but just shook his head.

"I would never--"

"We're done talking now. Kitsune and I are gonna go out and have a beer." She raised her voice slightly with her last word, smirking at Keitaro derisively.

After a brief moment's pause, she turned away from him to walk away only to pause mid-step and snap back around.

"Oh, and one more thing. It's adorable that you think that you're the only one in the world who has it bad, but you wanna hear something sad? Wait until Kitsune's good and drunk, and then ask her how she ended up at the Hinata house." She took the last drag of her cigarette, turned around, and flicked it off to the side of the road. "Now fuck off."

* * *

**AN: Yeah, so this was a bit longer than the last chapter and particularly angry at the end. In defense of Haruka's reaction (preemptively of course, because I have no idea how you will react after reading this initially.), I think that outside of being stoic, she has shown on more than one occasion that she cared about the Hinata girls. I also think that she isn't one to stand idly if she believes that a threat has been introduced to Hinata House. In this case, Keitaro being rather unhealthy for Mitsune.**

**Anyway, like it or hate it, there it is. Apologies for the strong language; this is the only time you'll see it. **

**Again, please read and review, and I'll respond as best I can. Thanks much.  
**


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